Fixing It
by Hank's Lady
Summary: Edgar Frog has a problem he desperately needs help with, but he doesn't think a bunch of vampires are the ones to do it. Until David proves he can fix things, one step at a time. Unconnected to my other Lost Boys stories. MM romance/slash/angst/hurt and comfort/recovery from abuse. Edgar/David eventually.
1. Chapter 1

I folded one arm behind my head and played with my nipple ring with the fingers of the other hand. Pursing up my lips, I blew out a long breath. I was bored. And I was tired of half vampires. Neither one thing nor another, and they wouldn't take that final step. Star slept on my right side and Michael on my left, exhausted from our session earlier. I knew well enough they only had sex with me so I'd let them have each other, but as much as I enjoyed having both a girl and a guy at the same time, it was no longer enough, especially when they both disliked me. But now I wanted something more—something just for me. Some_one_ just for me; someone who really wanted me.

I rose from the bed and pulled on my pants. It was barely midnight and although I didn't feel like hunting, I wanted to do something. I grabbed a shirt and walked out into the main part of the cavern, where Dwayne and Laddie were playing a handheld video game, and Paul and Marko were munching some Chinese food.

"Hey, squirt, it's past your bedtime," I told Laddie.

The cheeky boy gave me the finger, but grinned and got up to go to his bed. Dwayne put the game away. "Thought you were busy?"

I shrugged. "_Was_. Fucking half vamps have no stamina. Anyway, I'm bored."

"Thought you liked having one of each." Paul smirked.

"Yeah, well, I want something new. I'm fed up of having to coerce people into it. I'm going out. Any of you joining me?"

"Sure." Marko got up. "I'm still hungry."

"You're always hungry." Dwayne pulled on his boots. "I'm with you."

All four of us left the cavern, leaving the three half vampires to sleep. We took our bikes and rode to the boardwalk, which was now quiet and in darkness. The comic book store and the video store were closed and locked up, and only a handful of people lingered, slowly making their way back to their cars or homes. We headed for the beach and ambled along the sand. I doubted we'd find any source of entertainment, but you never could tell.

Paul and Marko strode on ahead, kicking at the dunes, while I wandered aimlessly, talking to Dwayne. It turned out he was bored, like me, and wanted to find a girl for himself—maybe one who'd change for him and stick around.

"What about you?" he asked. "If you've had enough of Michael and Star, what are you looking for?"

"I don't know. I'm starting to think I prefer dick to pussy."

Dwayne snorted. "Really? I always thought you'd go for a girl, man. You did before those two."

"What can I say? Dicks are fun. You ever sucked on one?"

"Hell, no. Don't even go there." Dwayne glanced at me warily.

"I didn't mean that, you jerk." I shoved him sideways. "I know you don't swing that way. It was just a comment."

Dwayne laughed. "So, do you have anyone in mind?"

"No. Someone will turn up, I'm sure. Just gotta wait. If I find someone I like, maybe I'll change him."

Marko and Paul's voices drifted to us from some distance ahead, and it sounded like they'd found someone to torment.

"Hey, hey, hey, wanna play?" Paul cackled evilly.

"All on your own now, not even armed," Marko added.

"Fuck off!" a gravelly voice responded. I instantly recognised it—Edgar Frog.

"Is that one of the Frogs?" Dwayne voiced my thoughts.

"Yeah, it's Edgar."

"Don't you know it's a bad idea to tell a vampire to fuck off?" Paul taunted.

"You smell awfully good." Marko giggled. "Always wondered what your blood would taste like, and here it is, all on display."

"Shit," Dwayne muttered. "What are they doing?"

I covered the last few yards in a second, finding the guys standing over Edgar Frog. He sat on the ground with blood oozing from his nose and mouth. He was alone, and come to think of it, I hadn't seen his elder brother Alan for quite a while.

"What's going on?" I demanded. "Did you two do this?"

"Seriously?" Marko rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, okay." I shook my head. They wouldn't hit a human, not even a vampire killer unless he was attacking. Their fists would break his face. "So, what happened?"

"We just found him. Smelled him, actually." Paul sniffed the air, then stooped and licked Edgar's face, catching some of the blood. "Yum."

Edgar flinched and shuffled backwards. "Go to hell where you belong!" he growled, but his voice shook, and his eyes glinted with building tears.

"Come on, guys, leave him alone," Dwayne said. "He's not armed."

"We like to play with our food." Marko laughed and prodded Edgar with the toe of his boot. "The little Frog actually looks scared. Not much of a killer, are you, kid?"

"That's enough." I spoke quietly, but the pair of them turned away from Edgar immediately and moved to my side. "Let's go."

"Should I—?" Dwayne gestured at Edgar. Dwayne loved kids. He was great with Laddie, like a cross between an elder brother and a father figure, even though he was only my age—twenty-one. I nodded and turned away. Paul and Marko followed reluctantly.

"It was only a bit of fun," Paul said. "We wouldn't really have hurt him."

"Yeah, who'd run the comic book store if we did? I like my comics." Marko sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "What's Dwayne doing with him?"

"Checking he's okay," I replied.

"I'm surprised you care."

"I don't," I said shortly. "But he's useful. He and his brother keep our population down, saves us doing it. Not that I've seen his brother lately."

Dwayne caught us up minutes later. Paul and Marko wandered off and left us. "So?" I raised an eyebrow.

"He won't talk." Dwayne shook his head. "But he's scared of something—shit scared."

"We'll check into the store tomorrow. See how things are," I told him.

We returned to the cavern later and when dawn came, we went to our perches. I didn't return to the bed. I'd decided I wouldn't touch Michael and Star again and that meant not sleeping with them either. I'd find myself someone just for me, the same way Dwayne wanted to.

The next day all of us went to the boardwalk together, Laddie riding on the back of Dwayne's bike and Star on Michael's. Star and Michael took Laddie on the roller coaster, while Paul and Marko went to the video store to irritate Michael's mother who worked there. Dwayne and I headed for the comic book store. As usual, Edgar was there alone, warily watching for potential shoplifters.

I wondered about the Frog parents. I'd seen the mother a couple of times, but never a father. Perhaps there wasn't one. The mother never seemed to do anything in the store, or at least not in the evening. Edgar and Alan couldn't have been more than young teenagers when they started working there. There had been no sign of Alan for at least a couple of months.

Edgar's eyes narrowed when he saw us, and he backed into the corner near the cash register. He plucked a stake from a ledge beside it and gripped it tightly in his right hand. He clenched the other hand into a fist to stop the tremble. His split lip was healing, but the corners of his eyes were black from the blow to his nose the day before.

"I'll talk to him," I said.

"Right. You think you'll get more out of him than I did?" Dwayne's lips twitched.

"Maybe not."

"I don't know why you care. Unless—" His eyebrows lifted. "I doubt he's more than fifteen, David, don't go there."

"Fuck off. That wasn't what I was thinking." I scowled at him and advanced on Edgar, slowing my steps as I got nearer. He was scared, which wasn't like him. When Alan had been around, the pair of them had been full of aggression and bravado, threatening us with stakes and holy water if we didn't stay out of the store. Now he looked like he wanted to crawl into a corner and hide. Dwayne left me to it and went to find the others.

"Hey," I greeted. I even smiled, to show him my fangs were retracted.

"What do you want?" His jaw twitched.

"Passing the time of day. Where's your brother?"

Edgar sucked in a breath and his eyes darkened. His lips trembled and he bit hard into the lower one. The hand holding the stake fell to his side and he hung his head. Shit.

"Did something happen to him?" I asked.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Edgar jerked his head up. "One down, one to go, right?"

"None of us have ever done anything to you, have we?" I pointed out. "We joke around, sure. But we wouldn't do anything for real. You're useful, keeping the rest of the bloodsucking population down. So, what happened to your brother?"

"He's gone." Edgar gritted his teeth and fought back tears. I could smell the salt.

"Gone? As in dead?"

"Yes! He's dead! Are you happy now?" He hurled the stake at me wildly, making no attempt to take aim, and I caught it easily, then placed it back beside the till.

"What happened?" I asked, horrified. Had one of our kind killed Alan?

"Like I'd tell you." Edgar's voice shook. "Leave me alone."

"I'm not your enemy," I said softly. "None of us are. We won't kill you or try to make you one of us."

"You're still fucking bloodsuckers," Edgar growled.

"Yeah, we are. We can't help that, but we can choose who we kill."

Suddenly, the anger went out of Edgar and he sank onto the chair in front of the cash register. "Go away. Please."

"Fine. I'll go. When you tell me who hit you yesterday."

"Why do you care?"

"Maybe he or she needs teaching a lesson."

Edgar shivered. "It's none of your business."

"Damn, you're not easy to have a conversation with, are you?" I sighed and leaned against the counter. "You know how many times stronger than a human a vampire is? Maybe you want someone like me, or Dwayne or the others on your side."

"I'll never be on the same side as a killer. Now get out." Edgar stood up, then finding himself too close to me, he jumped away so fast he stumbled.

I backed away. "I'm going. But we'll be around. Remember that. You'll always find us on the boardwalk around this time."

"I'm aware of that."

"It wasn't a threat. It was a promise, in case you ever need us for anything."

I walked away, stealing myself not to look back over my shoulder. I barely recognised the strange knot in my stomach as anxiety. I hadn't felt that emotion since I'd been human, but I felt it now. Something or someone was scaring Edgar and I didn't like it. His brother was dead, he was alone, and apparently with no one to turn to. He was nothing to me, and yet suddenly I wanted to step in and fix whatever was going on, only I didn't know how. I didn't even know what there was to fix and it didn't seem as if he was going to tell me. I would find out sooner or later, I told myself. Whatever Edgar's problem was, I would make it go away.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was Saturday, the busiest night of the week on the boardwalk. Marko and Paul went hunting as soon as dusk fell. Michael, Star, and Laddie went out to eat at Laddie's favourite burger bar. When I jumped from my perch, the first thing I thought about was Edgar Frog. I pulled on my boots and strode past Dwayne to the steps leading up to the cliff top.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" He followed, pulling on his jacket.

"I'm hungry."

"For what?"

"Food." I grinned. "Gonna join me?"

"Nah. I need to hunt. I'll see you later." He took off, leaving me alone. I rode my bike to the boardwalk, parked in my usual spot behind the video store, and peered through the window. Mrs Emerson was talking to Sam, her younger son, who had apparently dropped into the store. I grimaced at his outfit. How the kid could wear such ridiculous clothes and think he looked good was beyond me.

As I watched, he made his way to the door. "I'm going to see Edgar. See you later, Mom." He collected a bicycle from where it leaned against the wall and pedalled off to the comic book store.

I followed slowly on foot. When I reached the store, I heard the two boys arguing. I lurked out of sight beyond the door and listened.

"I'm too busy," Edgar's deep voice said.

"I can hang out here," Sam suggested. "You're on your own all the time."

"Thanks for reminding me."

"I'm sorry. I just want to help."

"Then leave me alone."

"Come on, Edgar. I'm your friend. What happened the other day? Who'd you get in a fight with?"

"I told you. Line of duty."

"I don't believe you. You're not yourself. You're kinda jumpy. Was it one of those bloodsuckers from the cavern?"

My eyes narrowed and I hissed through my teeth.

"No! Go away, Sam," Edgar growled.

"Fine. I'll come back tomorrow. You shouldn't push away the one friend you've got, you know."

Sam turned away and walked out of the shop. I slipped inside. There were no customers.

Edgar glared at me. "What are you doing here?"

"He was right, you know. Your friend. You shouldn't push people away. Never know when you might need him."

"He's a kid."

"So are you." I grinned.

"I'm not a kid. I'm sixteen next week." Edgar's eyes widened, as if he were surprised he'd given anything away.

"Still a kid." I nodded. "You should be in school, not running a business."

"What the fuck?" Edgar's scowl deepened. "What are you, my mother?"

I smirked. "Where is your mother?"

"What's it to you? Why don't you go to hell where you belong?"

His bravado had returned, and my smirk turned into a genuine smile. "That's more like it." I left him alone and headed for the Chinese food stall to get some noodles. He was okay at the moment at least. I didn't question why I cared so much—I wouldn't have been able to come up with an answer. It certainly wasn't what Dwayne had suggested. I wasn't interested in him _like that_. Not at fifteen. Maybe in three years.

"What the hell are you thinking?" I muttered to myself. "Gonna wait three years—two actually, he's sixteen next week—for him to grow up?" I snapped my mouth shut and silently cursed for talking to myself.

Did I think about him like that? The kid was cute—there was no denying that. He had the voice of a much older man, which on a person of, say, eighteen or twenty, would probably have sent a shiver through me. Other than that, he was short, baby-faced, and definitely not on the scale that would tempt me into attraction. Thank God. I needed to find someone to fuck and forget about him. Perhaps the other day he really had only been in a fight that was now over. I remembered the scared look on his face and the way he trembled, and I squashed the memory. It was nothing.

A week later I found myself a human I was attracted to. I'd stopped hanging round the comic book store and gone to the concerts instead or wandered the boardwalk with the others. Even hung out in the video store and talked politely to Mrs Emerson. She didn't like me because of what I'd done to Michael, but she wasn't able to throw me out when I was being pleasant and helpful. I also sensed she didn't want to provoke me too much in case I went after Sam.

I picked up a young guy choosing a horror movie about vampires. He was cute, hot, and legal, and he was very keen to get in bed with me. He smelled delicious, but I restrained myself from biting and merely enjoyed his body for a couple of weeks, until he got too clingy. When he started talking about taking me back to his place to meet his mother, I decided enough was enough. I thought about changing him, but that wouldn't change the clingy behaviour. I didn't want to kill him—he didn't deserve it and I wasn't tempted to ruin his life and that of his family's, unusually for me. I told him I'd found someone else and it was over. He was upset but accepted it. Paul and Marko taunted me for ditching the guy instead of making him my next meal.

The next day, I found myself outside the comic book store, peering through the window at Edgar and Sam. Once again, Sam was trying to get Edgar to hang out with him, and Edgar was telling him he was too busy and making excuses. I waited until Sam left, then walked in.

"Not you again." Edgar scowled.

I grinned. "Good to see you, too."

"What do you want?"

"David," I supplied.

"What?"

"My name. It's David."

"I didn't ask what your name is." His eyes narrowed.

My gaze wandered over his face. He didn't appear injured in any way. He did, however, seem jumpy. He avoided my eyes and kept looking behind him to the door at the rear of the store.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"You're in my way," he growled. "Again. If you're not gonna buy anything, get out."

I turned to the shelves of comics and selected one I thought Laddie would like. "I'll take this."

"I wouldn't have you down for a Batman fan."

"It's a gift." I pulled out some money and gave it to him.

"Thanks." He curled his lip. "Now you can go."

"I might hang around for a while."

"Why? You're just asking to get staked."

I chuckled. Then the door at the rear of the store opened, and Edgar froze. A man of about thirty emerged, glanced at me, then turned his attention to Edgar. The look on his face was so familiar to me—I'd seen that look a dozen times.

"All right, Eddie?" the man said slyly.

Edgar clenched his fists at his sides and ground his teeth. His heart thumped wildly, and a look of fear came into his eyes. My hackles went up, but I wouldn't get proof of what was going on if I stayed. I rolled up the comic and ambled out of the store. I stopped outside and peered through a gap between the posters stuck on the inside of the window.

"Not too busy tonight. We'll close up early," the man said, resting a hand on Edgar's shoulder. "Relax for a while before your mom gets home."

"I just had a customer. It's always busy on the weekends." Edgar's voice shook, and he backed away.

"Now, come on Eddie. It's been a while since we had some alone time. I've got a treat in store for you. You know how special you are to me."

"What are you doing?" Dwayne spoke in my ear, startling me.

"Get in there and look at the stock. Buy something, whatever," I said under my breath. "Just do it. I'll explain later." I didn't trust myself. My fangs were lengthening, and I'd have torn the guy limb from limb right there in the store.

Dwayne walked into the store without question. "Hey, Edgar. I was hoping to get that new Superman comic that's out this week. Have you got it in yet?"

The man moved away from Edgar and shoved his hands into his pockets, his expression irritated.

"Um, no, it's not in yet. I've, um, I've got some, um, special editions if you want to have a, um, a look." He was shaking from head to foot.

My fangs punched through my lower lip and I cursed, retracted them, and licked at the wounds to heal them.

"That'd be great. Can you point them out to me?" Dwayne said.

"Right here." Edgar walked to a shelf and showed Dwayne the comics he'd mentioned. The man turned and disappeared through the door at the back of the store, slamming it closed behind him.

Dwayne examined the comics and picked one out, then went to pay for it. As he turned to walk back out, Edgar's anxiety rose. His racing heart quickened its pace, and the faint smell of sweat reached my nostrils. I moved to the door and gestured at Dwayne to go back in, then I followed. Edgar's fearful gaze met mine.

"Do you want us to hang around?" I asked quietly, forcing myself to calm down and not snarl.

"Yes." He hung his head, cheeks flushing scarlet.

"Dwayne, watch out for customers," I instructed. Then I ushered Edgar to the seat at the side of the store. He sat and pressed his trembling hands together between his knees. I sat too. "I heard what that guy said. Who is he?"

"M-my uncle. My m-mother's brother."

"He staying here?"

"Yeah. My mother asked him to move in. My dad left about three years ago, and she struggled on her own."

"Did your uncle hurt your brother, too?"

Edgar burst into tears.

"Fuck," I muttered.

"He killed Alan," he sobbed. "He killed him."

"What happened?" I asked.

"He did stuff… to Alan. For months. He couldn't take it anymore. It was me who found him. He hung himself in the bathroom." The words came out interspersed with choking sobs.

"And your uncle moved onto you?"

Edgar put his hands over his face, tears seeping between his fingers. Cautiously, I rested my hand on his shoulder. He stiffened and jerked away from me.

"I won't hurt you," I murmured. "I won't hurt one hair on your head."

He leaned closer again, and when I slid my arm around him, he pressed against me and soaked my neck with his tears. I rested my chin on top of his head and tried not to breathe. I could smell his blood racing through his veins, and it made my mouth water. I'd never wanted to bite so much in my life, and at the same time, I'd never had this curious protective urge either. I was sure of one thing—the uncle wouldn't see another day.


	3. Chapter 3

Edgar pulled away and scrubbed his hands over his face. "Sorry," he grunted.

"It's okay. Let's get out of here."

"I can't!" He jumped to his feet. "The store."

"Fuck the store. You'd be closing in an hour anyway. Close up now and come with us. Then we'll deal with this… situation."

"But—" Edgar stopped and nodded. "Give me a minute."

I stood by the door while he emptied the till, turned off the lights, and pulled the sliding doors across the front of the store. Dwayne came outside and Edgar locked up.

"Take him to the house," I told Dwayne.

Edgar glanced at me in alarm. "What house?"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Dwayne will take care of you."

"No, I don't know him." He backed away.

"Edgar, listen to me." I grabbed his wrist, lightly enough that he could pull away if he wanted. "You can trust us. I've been through the same thing you have."

Dwayne's eyes widened as he looked at me. I gave a slight shake of my head, warning him not to say anything.

"As for him… he's like a big brother," I continued. "You know that little half vamp kid we have hanging around with us? Laddie? Dwayne mostly takes care of him. You'll be fine with him."

Edgar glanced from me to Dwayne and back again.

"He's right," Dwayne said. "You'll be safe with me."

"Where are you going?" Edgar asked me.

"I have something to take care of. I'll be along in a while."

He nodded meekly and walked away with Dwayne. Clearly, he felt safer alone at night with a vampire, than with his so-called family. My vague admission probably helped. Gritting my teeth, I went around the back of the store to the outer door that led directly up to the living accommodation. The mother was out, the uncle had said. So, I could do what needed to be done without having her in the way.

The door was unlocked, and I let myself in, then moved silently up the stairs. The uncle was lying on the couch watching porn, his dick out, slowly stroking it.

"That you, Eddie?"

My jaw cracked as I ground my teeth. I stepped through the open door. "No, it's not _Edgar_, you dirty sack of shit."

The man sprang from the couch, fumbling to shove his dick into his pants. "You were in the store. Who the hell are you?"

"Your worst nightmare."

"Where's Edgar?"

"Safe, where you'll never touch him again. You, on the other hand, are history." In a flash of movement, I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off his feet. "You sick fuck, molesting children, your own fucking flesh and blood. What the hell is wrong with you?"

The uncle kicked and struggled, clawing at my hand gripping his throat and gasping for air. I pulled him in closer and allowed his feet to touch the ground. My fangs extended and I pulled my lips back to give him a good look.

"You know what I am? You know what Santa Carla's famous for?"

He gasped and struggled, unable to speak, eyes wide with terror.

"You know what we do? We rid the town of scum like you." My temper rose and I couldn't control myself any longer. As much as I wanted to draw it out and scare the shit out of him, my fury wouldn't let me. I ducked my head and drove my fangs into his neck. His blood flooded my mouth and I gulped it down, sucking on his neck hard to drain him. His thundering heart began to slow, and the acrid stench of urine assaulted my nostrils as he pissed himself. I carried on drinking, not spilling a drop until his eyes clouded over and his pulse stopped. When I was done, I carried the body outside, soared into the air and out over the sea, where I dropped it into the waves.

I returned to the video store to collect my bike and rode to the house that had once been Max's, when that sick bastard had still been alive. What had happened to Edgar brought it all back, and I wanted to kill Max all over again. I remembered that day when I'd used a human's methods and rammed a fence post through his chest in my desperation to rid myself of the nightmare.

By the time I parked the bike, I was shaking with rage and sickness. I paced and stamped in the yard until I calmed enough to let myself into the house. They were in the lounge room, Dwayne reading the comic he'd bought, and Edgar huddled on the corner of the couch.

"Hey."

They both looked up, Dwayne meeting my gaze. "Sorted?" he asked.

I nodded. "Will you get Star, Michael, and Laddie?"

Dwayne left without a word.

"What happened?" Edgar licked his lips and wrapped his arms tight around himself.

"You won't ever have to worry about him again."

His eyes widened. "You killed him?"

"Yes."

Edgar sat in silence for a full minute, contemplating. "Good."

"Is there anything you want to ask me?"

He shook his head.

"Okay. The others will be here soon. You know Michael, right?"

Edgar stiffened. "Yes, he's Sam's brother. You, um, you forced him into being like you!"

"No one forced him into doing anything. It was his choice. Star warned him. There's no pressure on him to change fully. He's not fond of me, but he has her. We get along."

"I thought Star was with you."

I sighed. "Was, for a while. Under sufferance, I think." I shot him a smile. "I haven't been very nice to them. Don't hold it against me. I am what I am."

"So why did you help me? Why not just kill me, or change me? Or carry on taunting me the way you all did before?"

I hesitated as I heard bikes outside. Dwayne and the others hadn't wasted any time. "I suppose I saw a little bit of me in you in some ways," I said quickly.

Edgar didn't comment as Star and Laddie came into the room, followed by Michael. "Hey, Edgar," Michael said. "Good to see you."

Edgar nodded.

"Hey, Edgar, I'm Laddie." The young boy bounced onto the couch beside Edgar. "You're from the comic store. You're so lucky. If I worked in there, I'd read the comics all day."

Edgar managed a small smile. "What's your favourite comic?"

"Batman!"

"That reminds me—" I pulled the rolled-up comic I'd bought earlier out of my pocket and tossed it to Laddie. "There you go."

"Thanks, David!" He opened the comic eagerly. "You want to read this with me, Edgar?"

"Okay."

Relieved, I caught Dwayne's eye and walked out of the room. "What are you going to do with him?" he asked as soon as we were in the kitchen with the door closed.

"I don't know yet."

"What did you do with the uncle?"

"What do you think?"

Dwayne grinned. Then he sobered quickly. "What you said to Edgar earlier, about you; was that true?"

My eyes narrowed. "Yes, it's true."

"Was it Max?"

"You don't need to know about that. He's dead, isn't he?"

"Is that why you killed him?"

I scowled. Dwayne raised his hands. "I won't mention it again. I'm sorry, though. I never would have known."

"I didn't intend for you to know. That's why I kept you and Paul and Marko away from him. So you'd be safe."

"Shit." Dwayne shook his head. "Now I understand about Edgar. Why you helped him."

"What happens next is up to him," I said. "He can go home to the store and his mother, or he can stay here. I don't think the mother cares that much."

"Stay here? Amongst a bunch of vampires he hates?"

"I think he hates us a little bit less after tonight. Besides, sounds like he's hitting it off with the others." Star's laughter drifted through the house, and Laddie could be heard squealing and giggling. "We'll see."

I took some bottles of soda out of the refrigerator and headed back to the lounge room. I didn't know what Edgar liked to drink, but Star and Laddie liked cherry cola. Michael preferred lemonade. I handed the bottles around, then offered Edgar a choice. He took coke.

"I can open it for you," Laddie said, and proceeded to show off his superhuman strength by tearing the metal cap from Edgar's bottle with his teeth. "How cool is that? Don't you want to be like us?"

"Um, yeah, it's cool." Edgar smiled at the kid, then shot a wary glance at me.

"Don't worry," I mouthed.

As the night wore on, Edgar began to yawn. Star sent Laddie to bed in the small room allocated to him for whenever we were at the house. Then Star and Michael went to their room.

"I thought you all lived in the cavern," Edgar said. "Vampires like dark, dank places with a history of suffering, don't they?"

Dwayne grinned. "You've done your research. Yeah, we do, but we often keep a regular house as well."

"For luring your victims." Edgar cringed. "I thought you said you wouldn't hurt me."

"We're not going to. That's not what this is." I sat down next to him.

"But Laddie said—"

"He's a kid. This is all exciting to him. It's like being a character in one of his comics."

"Why did you even change a child?"

"It wasn't us. One of the others you killed last year bit him. We found him when he was still alive, but he was half vampire by then. He'll never age now, but he'll grow more mature. Then he can decide for himself whether he wants to stay as he is or change fully."

"Okay." Edgar nodded. "Isn't this Max's house?"

"It was. He's dead," I told him. "Didn't you know that?"

"Yes, I knew. I just didn't know you stayed here."

"He didn't have anyone to leave it to, so we took it over. There's no mortgage on it or anything. He wasn't officially alive so there were no records or paperwork to sort out. We don't come here that often, but the cavern isn't a great place for you to be. You have a choice, Edgar, but I would suggest you sleep on it and think about what you want to do tomorrow. You can go back home to your mother and carry on running the store, or you can stay here. None of us will hurt you, like I said."

"Are you sure he's gone?" He met my eyes, his wide and hopeful.

"I'm sure. Do you want the details?"

"David," Dwayne said warningly.

Edgar glanced at him. "It's okay. I do want the details. I want to know exactly what happened so I can be sure… well, that he's really gone."

"Edgar." I touched his arm and he turned to look at me again. "I went into the apartment above the store. He was waiting for you, so he was pretty shocked to see me there. I picked him up by the throat, then I bit him."

"David!" Dwayne hissed.

"Please, go on," Edgar urged.

"I drained out every drop. He died right there. There's no mess, you don't have to worry about that. Then I took his body and dropped it in the sea. The tide is on the way out. He'll be long gone by morning."

Edgar nodded. Tears sprang into his eyes and he brushed them away. "Can I go to bed now, please?"

"Sure. I'll show you one of the guest rooms." I got up and he followed me upstairs. "There's the bathroom." I pointed at a partly open door. "If it's closed, someone's in there. We leave it open otherwise."

"Do vampires even use the bathroom?" he asked curiously.

I snorted. "Yeah. We still eat and drink, right? And we shower, otherwise we'd smell pretty unpleasant."

"I guess."

"That's Laddie's room." I pointed at a closed door. "That one's Star and Michael's. Those two down the end are empty. You can pick which one you want."

"Which is yours?"

"I, um, don't really have one." The last time I'd slept in the house, I'd been with Star and Michael. "I usually sleep in the cavern during the day," I added.

"Right. I'll take that one, then." He indicated one of the doors, then opened it.

I reached past him and flicked the light switch. The room had a double bed, a chest of drawers and a wardrobe. The bed was made up with plain black sheets which had never been slept in, at least not since we took over the house.

He glanced at me, his heartrate picking up, suddenly anxious. He hovered, fidgeting, opened his mouth to say something, then stopped and bit his lip.

"No one will disturb you," I said quietly. "The door has a lock on it, if you want to use it."

"It wouldn't stop a vampire, though, right?" He huffed out a nervous laugh.

"Edgar, no one will hurt you. You're safe here," I said again. "None of us will bite you or try to touch you. Dwayne will go back to the cavern. I'll be in that other room down the far end." I pointed behind me. "When dawn comes, we'll all be sleeping like the dead, so it's up to you if you leave or not. Don't disturb us after that point."

He nodded. "I know." He licked his lips and swallowed. "Thank you."

"If you're not here at dusk, I'll drop by the store and look for you," I added. "Check you're okay."

"I still don't know why you're doing this. You mentioned something earlier. Dwayne looked kind of shocked."

"He didn't expect me to bring it up. Max did some stuff to me, so I recognised what was going on with you pretty quickly. I'm not gonna tell you about it now, it's the last thing you need to hear."

"I'm sorry." Suddenly, he looked at me differently. "Is that why you killed him?"

"Yes. It's also why I changed. I wasn't strong enough to fight him off when I was human. I asked him to change me. Then I staked him."

"_You_ staked a vampire?"

"Ironic, huh?" I gave him a brief smile. "Go to bed."

"Yeah. Good night." He backed into the room and closed the door.

I went to the room at the end of the landing and lay on the bed fully clothed. The thick black curtains would shut out any hint of light when dawn came. I stared at the ceiling, unblinking, thinking about Edgar. I could hear him fifty feet away through two closed doors, tossing and turning, smothering his crying in the pillow. I clenched my fists and bit through my bottom lip with my fangs, swallowing my own blood. Every fibre of my body yearned to get up and go to him, but I fought it and stayed where I was. I'd promised to leave him alone; promised no one would hurt him. If I went into his room even to check he was okay, I'd betray his trust and he'd freak out. So, I lay there, listening to him, and cursing the corpse I'd tossed into the sea. There was nothing else I could do.


	4. Chapter 4

My eyes snapped open and I snarled, fangs extended. Yesterday had been the worst day I'd had since I killed Max. I didn't really think about what happened _before_ I killed him very much anymore. Vampires had the ability to block things out so completely that they ceased to be a problem. But seeing someone else suffering the same way I had brought it all back in a glaringly bright film-reel in my head. That look on Edgar's uncle's face had been on Max's when he looked at me, right before he grabbed me and… overpowered me. He didn't even try and coax me into going along with it. He was stronger and he wanted what he wanted, so he took it. Until I changed.

I catapulted from the bed and slammed my fist through the bedroom door before I could stop myself. Then I pulled my hand back, grimacing. "Shit, you idiot. Calm down."

"David?" Dwayne opened the door.

"Yeah, I know, I'm out of control." I rolled my eyes.

"I was going to ask if you're okay. Clearly not."

"What happened yesterday just brought back some stuff in my head, that's all. I'm fine. Have you seen Edgar tonight?"

"No, he's gone." He indicated the open door at the other end of the landing. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about anything?"

"Don't try counselling me, Dwayne," I growled. "I said I'm fine."

"No, you're not. But I'll stay out of it. I'm not gonna say anything to the others, by the way."

"I know you wouldn't. Who else is here?"

"No one. Michael and Star took Laddie out a few minutes ago."

"Right. I'm going to check he's okay." He'd know I meant Edgar. I took a shower and changed my clothes, then made my way to the comic book store on foot.

Everything looked normal. The lights were on, a couple of customers were in browsing the comics, and Edgar was putting out some new stock. I waited until the two girls had picked out something and paid for it, then went over to him.

"How are you?"

He looked up, eyes bloodshot and with dark shadows underneath. I doubted he'd slept. "Better than yesterday." His lips twitched, but he didn't manage to smile.

"Have you seen your mother?"

"Yeah. I just said I locked up like normal and went up to bed. That I didn't see him. She checked his room and all his stuff is there. She thinks he went off on a bender somewhere." He glanced around, making sure no one else was nearby. "I'm gonna wait a couple of days until she's out again, then pack up all his stuff and get rid of it. He doesn't have much. She'll just think he left."

"That's good."

"He's always been unreliable."

"Right. What about you?"

"I'm staying here. Thanks, though. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't—"

"But I did, so you don't have to think about it anymore."

"I can't stop thinking about it. How do you put something like that behind you?" His voice shook.

"It's easier when you're like me. We can shut stuff away and it's like it never happened."

"Shit. Maybe I should get you to change me then." He laughed harshly. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"You know where we are if you need us. If we're not at the house, we'll be in the cavern."

Edgar nodded. "I need to get back to work. I'm okay. Really."

"Sure. I'll see you, then. You should take up your friend's offer, you know. Hang out with him sometimes. Don't be alone, Edgar." I turned and left the store, as reluctant as I'd ever been to do anything, but there was nothing more to say. I couldn't keep hanging around him. I'd fixed his immediate problem and there wasn't much I could do about his thoughts. He'd have to work his way through it or talk to somebody. Maybe that would be me sometime, because he knew I knew what it was like, but he would have to decide that.

"That was quick. Is he okay?" Dwayne found me on the boardwalk a minute later.

"Yeah, he's staying with his mother."

"That's probably for the best."

"Yeah, he's going to pack up the uncle's stuff and get rid of it, make it look like he took off. Apparently, he does that."

We walked away to get food and I did what I'd done before, and what I'd done only that morning—I shut my thoughts down where they wouldn't bother me. I couldn't let myself think about Edgar because unless he came to me, there wasn't anything more I could do.

…..…...

A few weeks later, Dwayne and I both found lovers. His was a pretty blonde girl; mine looked similar, but wasn't. Blonde hair, pretty face all made up, slightly enhanced chest although that could have been the bodice of the dress, an obvious Adam's apple and no hips to speak of. When I got under the clothes, he was all man, he just liked to dress different. I could work with that.

Dwayne told his girl what we were within a few days and gave her the choice of sticking around or running for the hills. She stayed, but she didn't want to change, and she wouldn't let him leave her alone with any of the rest of us. My guy, Stevie, found out by accident after three weeks. He lived with his sister so we couldn't fuck at his place, and I'd taken him back to the house several times each week. He turned up during the day when I was sleeping and tried to wake me.

Waking a vampire during the day isn't wise, especially when you've opened the fucking black-out curtains. I shot out of the room in a screaming, hissing fit of pain, eyes yellow, fangs out, and gouged holes in the walls along the landing with my fingernails, before I dived into the bed Edgar used that one night and pulled the sheet over my head. Stevie fled and I never saw him again, unsurprisingly. It didn't bother me that much. He'd been fun, but I hadn't been tempted to try and change him and keep him with me.

When I woke at dusk, I hunted, then walked alone on the beach. It was past two in the morning when I saw him, sitting in roughly the same place Marko and Paul had found him before when he was bleeding. A number of bottles were scattered around him and as I watched, he pulled a fresh one from a bag that lay beside him. He picked up a bottle opener and clumsily attempted to pry the cap off the bottle.

"I think you've had enough, don't you?" I took both the bottle and the opener from his hands.

"Leave me alone," he slurred.

"Why are you drinking?" It was a stupid question. He was drinking to block it out in the only way he could think of.

"Fuck off, David." Edgar reached for the bottle and when I wouldn't give it to him, he took another one out of the bag. Without the bottle opener, he had no way of opening it. He glanced around him, smashed the neck off the bottle with a stone, and lifted it to his mouth.

"Shit, stop!" Thankfully, a vampire is a lot faster than a drunken boy. I snatched the bottle from him and tossed it as far away as I could, then dropped to my knees on the sand and grabbed his wrists so he couldn't do anything else. "You're gonna hurt yourself."

"And?" He pulled feebly against my hold. "Let go."

"I'm taking you back to the house to sober you up." I got up again and tugged him to his feet. He could barely stand, his knees sagging, eyes rolling. "Edgar." I smacked his face gently. "Come on."

He belched and grimaced. "Gonna be sick."

"Fuck." I turned him away from me and held him up as he puked about as much as I'd ever seen a human puke. I expected it was mostly beer—at least eight empty bottles lay at our feet. When he'd finished vomiting, he passed out. I scooped him up into my arms just in time to stop him falling in the patch of wet sand in front of him. "Jesus Christ. Fucking alcohol. What the fuck am I gonna do with you?"

Edgar lay limply in my arms, head lolling back over my bicep. He looked so fucking young and helpless and I had no clue how to deal with someone who was drunk. Shit. I couldn't very well take him to his mother like this, if she was even home. I held him tighter, gripping him securely so he wouldn't fall, and took off into the sky. Less than five minutes later, I was fumbling open the rear door of the house, trying not to drop Edgar who was still unconscious. Much to my relief, Star and Michael were there, having a romantic picnic on the lounge room floor, which I was about to ruin.

"Star! Help?" I sidled through the door, trying not to bang Edgar's head on the jamb, and carried him to the couch.

Star and Michael jumped up, Star quickly fastening her blouse. It didn't even occur to me to say anything rude. "What happened?" she gasped.

"He drank about eight bottles of beer. He puked most of it back up again, then passed out."

"Michael, get some water and maybe some milk to line his stomach," Star said. "My dad drank a lot. He used to have milk before he went out, so he didn't get sick as much. Then he drank water before he went to bed, so he didn't suffer in the morning. I guess both of those will help Edgar."

Michael returned in a second with two large glasses, one of water and one of milk, and a bucket. He passed them to Star as she propped Edgar up with several cushions under his head and shoulders. "Where was he?" Michael asked.

"On the beach. Looked like he'd been there a while." I scratched my head, feeling like a spare part. I wasn't much use, but I didn't want to leave either. Star was patting Edgar's face, coaxing him to open his eyes and sip some water.

Michael came over to me. "My brother's been trying to get Edgar to hang out with him. They used to be best friends. Edgar keeps making excuses, saying he's too busy or too tired or something. A couple of times, he hasn't even opened the store."

"Where's his mother?" I asked. "Do you know?"

"She's got a new boyfriend. She stays away for days at a time and expects Edgar to run the store twelve hours a day or more. He should be in school. He was in Sam's class; Alan was a couple of years ahead of them. When he, um, died, Edgar dropped out of school."

"Shit." I shook my head. "He needs someone to take care of him."

"Yeah, clearly." Michael huffed out a breath. "I could ask my mom. Maybe if he's away from all this, with a proper home, and a kind of stand-in mom and brother, it'd help."

All the others knew what had happened to Edgar. Dwayne had filled them in with a brief outline of events after Edgar spent the night at the house. Every one of them promised never to mention it to Edgar in the future.

"Do you think she'd go for it?" I asked.

"Probably. She's always been the type to help waifs and strays. Always brought home lost pets, and kids whose folks were out at work late. I'll go and talk to her."

"It's the middle of the night," I reminded him.

"I meant later." He sneered slightly. "Why are we doing this, by the way? I thought you hated the Frogs."

"He's a kid with no one else to help," I said shortly.

"Ha."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just something Dwayne said."

My hair stood on end. Dwayne wouldn't tell anyone. I knew he wouldn't. "About what?"

"You being soft when the need arises. Shame we didn't see any of that a few weeks ago. You knew me and Star wanted to be together."

"And you are."

"But there was a price, wasn't there? To begin with. So long as you got what you wanted, we could have what we wanted."

"Leave it. This isn't the time. Be glad you're not paying any more." I moved away from him as Edgar looked up at me.

"What am I doing here?" he asked, before bending over and puking up all the water he'd drunk into the bucket.


	5. Chapter 5

Eventually, Edgar started to sober up. He stopped vomiting and Star managed to get the water and milk down him, followed by some simple crackers. He looked terrible, huddled on the couch, refusing to talk to any of us. As dawn approached, we had to decide on what we were going to do.

"Go to bed," I told Star.

"Are you sure? You'll need to sleep soon. I can stay up."

"There's no need. Go on."

She and Michael went upstairs, leaving me alone with Edgar. The others were all back at the cavern. They'd be wondering what had happened, but there was no way of letting them know. There was no telephone there.

"You need to get some sleep," I told Edgar.

"I will. I'm fine here."

"I want to talk to you first and I can't stay in here much longer." I pointed at the window where a hint of orange was beginning to show. "We don't have blackout drapes down here."

"Okay." Edgar rose slowly and shuffled out of the room, dragging his feet. He went upstairs, one step at a time, holding onto the rail, and made his way to the room he'd used before. He got in the bed without a word and curled up on his side.

I sat on the end of the end of the bed, cross-legged. "Is this the first time you did this?" I asked.

"No."

"Does it help?"

"For a few hours. What's your point?"

"You need some proper help. Drinking yourself stupid won't fix this."

"Got a better idea?" He sounded almost like his old self as he sneered sarcastically.

"Yeah, I do actually. Michael's gonna ask his mom if you can stay with her and Sam. What do you think?"

"No," Edgar grunted.

"Why not?"

"I already got a mother."

"And where is she, huh? You didn't tell her what happened—"

"Of course I didn't. What was I gonna say? Hey, Mom, Uncle Robert kept trying to fuck me like he did Alan, but it's all okay now, because this vampire I know killed him?"

The two words that stood out to me were "_trying to._" So, it hadn't gone that far? Whatever had happened was bad enough but thank fuck it hadn't been that.

"David?"

"Yeah. I know you couldn't tell her. But did you try before—?"

"Yes, I did once. She thought I was making trouble because I didn't like having another father figure around. I tried to tell her why Alan killed himself and she wouldn't listen. She thought he was on drugs."

"Was he?"

"Maybe. I don't know. If he was, he hid it well. But I'm not going to stay with the Emersons. I'm fine on my own."

"You're not. You're a sixteen-year-old kid with no one on your side that I can see."

"I thought you were on my side."

"I am."

"So, let me get on with it, then. You're not my dad. You're… I don't even know what you are."

"I'm your friend," I said firmly.

"Okay. You're my friend. So was Sam. He won't listen either when I say I want to be left alone."

"He just wants to help, Edgar. He cares about you. He doesn't even know about any of this, but he knows something's going on."

"Well, I'm not telling him. You tell him whatever the fuck you like." Edgar reached up suddenly and gripped the bottom of the drapes. "Are you gonna leave me alone to sleep, or do I have to pull this down?"

"All right. Go to sleep." I got off the bed and backed towards the door. "Just think about what I said. No one can live completely alone, not even me. Especially not with all of this shit to deal with." I slipped out of the door and closed it. Edgar didn't make another sound.

I went to my room quickly, tore off my clothes, and dived into the bed moments before the sleep of the dead took me. I didn't move a muscle until dusk, then I opened my eyes, rolled over, and stretched. I hoped Edgar would still be in the house, but I knew in my heart he wouldn't be. I scrubbed my hands over my face, then hauled myself up and went to take a shower. The house was quiet and apparently Michael and Star had already gone out.

When I got to the boardwalk, I found the other vampires together. They'd seen Michael and Star and heard what happened. Apparently, Michael had gone out early in the morning to see his mother and told them she'd be willing to take Edgar in if he would agree to it, and if Mrs Frog didn't put up a fight. Dwayne said Michael had merely told his mother Sam's best friend was struggling after his brother's death and that his mother was never there, leaving him to run the store by himself, and that he'd dropped out of school.

I headed for the comic book store, and found Michael and Sam there talking to Edgar. He seemed to be ignoring them, unpacking a box of comics and checking them off against a stock list. He looked up as I approached.

"Another one. Great. What is this? The fucking rehoming-Edgar army?"

"Don't be like that," Sam said in his whiny voice. "We just want to help."

"I don't need help," Edgar growled.

"You can't go on like this, especially not now your mother's gone," Michael told him.

"What? Where's she gone?" I asked him.

"San Francisco," Michael muttered.

"What the hell? Edgar?" I stepped passed the others and gripped him by the shoulders, forcing him to stop messing around with the comics and look at me. "Your mother left?"

"Yeah." He swallowed.

"When?"

"Today. Her boyfriend's a wannabe actor and he's got some part in a movie that's filming there."

"How long has she gone for?"

He shrugged. "Six months, maybe."

"Jesus." I glanced behind me at Michael and jerked my head at the door. He took the hint and steered a protesting Sam out of the store.

"Sit." I pressed Edgar onto the chair in front of the cash register and dropped to my haunches in front of him. I had no idea what I was doing, or what to say for the best, but I would just have to do the best I could.

"What do you want, David?" He sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his face. He looked awful—pale skin, purple shadows under his eyes, the beginnings of a shadow of fluff around his chin, and he was wearing the same clothes I'd last seen him in.

"I want to make sure you're gonna be okay, that's all. Michael's right; you can't go on like this. You're too young to be dealing with this by yourself, trying to run the store, living alone."

"It's none of your business."

"I'm making it my business. I'm your friend, remember? So is Sam; so is Michael."

"Stop bugging me. I'm okay." He avoided my eyes.

"How about I make you a deal? Give it a shot for, say, a month, staying with Sam and his mom. If you do that, I'll quit bugging you."

"Why do you even care?"

"You know why. I was older than you, but it didn't make it any less tough. I didn't have anyone on my side—not a single person. You do, so you should stop pushing them away."

"I don't want to talk about it," Edgar grunted.

"I know you don't. I'm not trying to make you talk. I want you to take the offer on the table and let somebody watch out for you, that's all. Your mother might not give a shit about you, but I do, and from what I hear, Mrs Emerson would, too."

His eyes widened. "Does she know?"

"No. Michael just told her your mother's never around, and things are tough after you lost Alan."

Edgar closed his eyes for a second and rubbed his hands over his face again. "Just a month?"

"To start with." I grinned. "What do you say?"

"She'll make me go to school." He grimaced.

"Probably. Is that so bad? Quitting school at fifteen isn't great."

"Seriously? I hated school. It was pointless. I doubt you went."

"I went until I was eighteen and got all my exams." I nodded to emphasise the point. "Granted, I haven't used them for anything, but if I hadn't become this—" I tapped my chest, "—I'd have had much more available to me than if I'd quit without any qualifications."

"Christ, you don't give up, do you?" Edgar glanced around him. "What about the store?"

"When do most of your customers come in?"

"Evenings and weekends."

"Well, they won't miss it during the day, then."

"Fine." Edgar rolled his eyes. "I'll stay with the Emersons if it gets you off my back."

I beamed. "Awesome!"

"Whoever heard of a fucking vampire making someone go to school? Jesus," Edgar muttered.

I just smiled wider. I'd got the result I wanted—he wouldn't be alone anymore. I went outside to find Michael and Sam. They looked despondent and resigned.

"He's gonna move in," I said.

"Really?" Sam said sceptically. "How'd you do that, huh?"

"I made him a deal. A month and see how it goes."

"Thanks." Michael nodded. "I'll go and tell Mom. He can come over to the house tonight when he finishes in the store. I'm gonna stay there for a few days, too."

"I'm going to hang out with him." Sam went back into the store.

"Why do you even care about Edgar Frog?" Michael asked me.

"I don't particularly," I lied. "But no one should have to go through that shit. Especially not a kid."

"Yeah, you're right, I just never expected you to step into this kind of thing."

"Well, then, you don't know me very well, do you?"

"I've only seen the other side of you." He grimaced.

I shrugged. "I keep it well hidden. I'm gonna take off." I left him and went to find some food.

I didn't see Michael after that for a few days, or Edgar and Sam. Michael stayed at his family's house and Star visited sometimes. I stayed away from the store until the next weekend, but when I went there to see Edgar on Saturday night, Sam was with him. Luckily, he was talking to a customer and pointing out comics on a shelf by the door. I approached Edgar, who was alone near the cash register.

"Hey. How's it going?"

He glared, the same way he always had. He looked a little better—the dark circles under his eyes were less, but he was still pale and seemed to have lost weight.

"Things okay at the Emerson house?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose," he said grudgingly.

"How's school?"

"Fuck off."

I grinned. "That good?"

"Look, I'm going, aren't I? I'm doing what you wanted. I don't have to like it. I thought you were gonna leave me alone."

"I said I wouldn't bug you. That doesn't include checking how you are." I leaned in close and sniffed his hair, catching the scent of something that wasn't beer, but was definitely alcohol. "What have you been drinking?"

"Coke." He curled his lip. "Don't push your luck, David. You don't get to tell me what to do anymore now I'm in the care of a _responsible adult._"

"Whatever. Take care of yourself." I left him alone.

For the next few weeks I stayed away from the store. I found myself a new lover. Dwayne's was now long gone, but he'd had a few casual encounters, as had Marko and Paul. I hadn't—not since I scared the living daylights out of Stevie. I tried a girl for a night and ended up killing her. My mind drifted while I was going at it and my fangs emerged. The second she saw them, she screamed loud enough to wake the dead and the fastest way to deal with it was to bite her. The next time, with a guy, the same thing happened. I forced my stupid mind to shut down after that. Edgar Frog was in my thoughts far too much, and when the question of whether he was okay popped into my head when I was fucking, that was too creepy even for me. I stopped thinking about him and stayed off the boardwalk completely.

A few months passed before he crossed my mind again in more than a passing thought, and that was when I turned up at the house and found him there, sprawled out on the couch, comatose, with an empty bottle of rum beside him.


	6. Chapter 6

I sat in the armchair opposite the couch and watched TV while I waited for Edgar to wake up. He was completely out of it, and I suspected if I disturbed him, he'd throw up everywhere, so I left him to sleep it off.

Eventually, about an hour before dawn, he opened his eyes enough to squint at the TV and realise he wasn't alone. Then he covered his face with his hands and groaned. "Fuck."

"Hangover?" I asked wryly.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. This is my house, remember?"

"Sorry, I'll go." Edgar sat up quickly, then dropped his head into his hands, cursing.

"Coffee?"

"Please."

I headed for the kitchen and switched on the kettle. A moment later Edgar thundered up the stairs to the bathroom. I made myself coffee and sipped it while I waited for him to finish puking and come back down. I poured a mug for him when he slunk into the room, shame-faced and looking like he'd woken from the dead.

"I like milk in my coffee," he said, glaring into the mug.

"Too bad. There isn't any."

He drank it slowly, wincing and grimacing with every mouthful. I watched in silence and waited for him to say something.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he exclaimed. "I needed to get away_._ Just for a few hours. I didn't think you'd mind me coming here."

"I don't mind. You can come here any time you want. Clearly you know where the key's kept."

"It took me a while to find." He made a face. "Sorry."

"It's all right. What I mind is that I came in here and found you passed out drunk."

"So, I had a little too much. It was a tough day. I got a fucking detention."

"What for?"

"Fighting."

"Well, then you're lucky you didn't get a suspension."

"Right." He glowered, much like the way he always had when I first knew him.

"How often are you drinking?"

"Not that often."

"How often?" I cringed at the sound of my voice. I sounded like my own father when he'd been around.

"What does it matter? It's not hurting you."

"Isn't it? Edgar, I don't want to see you hurting yourself and fucking your life up. Alcohol doesn't solve anything. It just makes you feel like shit afterwards. Where are you getting it from, anyway?"

"The Emersons have a tonne of booze in the basement," Edgar blurted. "From when their grandpa was alive. I won't be doing that anymore anyway."

"Really? Just like that?"

"I've, um, I've moved out." He flushed and avoided looking at me.

"What? When?"

"Today."

"And you talked to Mrs Emerson about this?" I didn't believe him for a second. He looked as guilty as hell.

"She, um, she was cool with it."

"So, if I ask Michael what happened, he's gonna back you up, is he?"

"She asked me to leave!" Edgar snapped. "I'm a liability and a bad influence on Sam, apparently."

I shook my head in exasperation.

"What? Nothing to say?" Edgar taunted. "Usually you've got plenty to say about stuff that's nothing to do with you."

"What is there to say, Edgar? We all tried to help you and you threw it back in our faces. Mrs Emerson didn't have to offer you a home, but she did so because she's a good lady and she was sorry about your situation. And I helped because I know what you're going through. I don't know what else I can say. I have to go upstairs. It's gonna be light soon." I walked away from him, hoping my bluff would prompt him into changing his attitude. I had no intention of abandoning him the way it sounded like I might.

I stomped upstairs and slammed my bedroom door after me, wanting to sound as pissed off as possible. I kicked my boots across the room, tossed my jacket onto a chair, and lay down on top of the bed covers. Then I listened to every sound downstairs.

Tap running, water filling a glass, Edgar gulping water, boiling the kettle, making more coffee. Soft footsteps on the stairs, then the landing, hesitating outside my door. A gentle, timid tap on the splintered wood above the spot I'd rammed my fist through.

"David?" I stayed silent. The door opened and he slipped inside. "David, what happened to your door?"

"I punched it. Not now, a while ago."

"Was it 'cause of me?"

"Possibly."

"I'm sorry." He came over to the bed and sat on the edge of it. "I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to help. Don't give up on me. I don't know what to do." Tears spilled over and he put his hands over his face.

"Edgar…"

He sobbed harder.

"Hey, come here." I reached for him tentatively. "Is this okay?"

He slumped into my arms and soaked my shirt with his tears. I wrapped both arms around him as he poured out his agony. When he stopped crying, he was completely silent for a long moment, holding his breath. Then he spoke suddenly. "Did Max rape you?"

"Shit. Are you sure you want to talk about this?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, he did, when I was human. He was too strong to fight off."

Edgar talked in a whisper, his voice so low another human wouldn't have heard him, but I did—I heard every word. His guilt from getting aroused by his uncle's actions, thinking he must have enjoyed it, convinced his response to it was to blame for it happening repeatedly. His fear of getting close to anyone else, and unhappiness that he might never trust anyone else that much. He spilled it all out rapidly as if he were trying to spit out something nasty. His heart raced and his body shook in my arms, but he didn't make any attempt to move away. He curled his fist around a handful of my shirt and hung on as if I were a lifeline.

"Nothing that happened was your fault," I said softly. "There's nothing to feel guilty about." I'd researched my own reaction to what Max did to me. I had no one to talk to and wouldn't have been able to anyway. As a vampire, I'd probably have lost control and killed anyone I attempted to confide in. But I'd figured it out for myself, mostly—involuntary reactions brought on by fear and anxiety; confusion over being unable to stop your body responding no matter how much you hated what was happening. "It'll take time. If you want to talk to someone who knows more about this, maybe that would help."

"No. I'd rather speak to someone who's been there."

"So, will you promise you'll do that rather than drink?"

"Yeah. I'll try." He lay still and silent, his breathing slowing. I almost thought he'd fallen asleep and I couldn't let that happen. The sleep of the dead was calling me and if I passed out with him like this and he woke up and freaked out, it could be a disaster.

I decided to try lightening the mood and shook him gently. "So, Mrs Emerson asked you to leave, huh?"

"Yeah, I burned my bridges. I did the best I could, honestly. But when I was in my room at night, on my own, I couldn't stop thinking. If I drink, I pass out and it goes away. She tried to help me at first, but I admit it, I was horrible. I got Sam drunk one weekend and she was furious. She even sent me to a shrink. She couldn't really afford it, and I fucked that up, too. I wouldn't talk, and the second appointment, I didn't show up. She doesn't want me back."

"You want to stay here?" I suggested.

"Can I?"

"Yeah, but there's a condition."

"Surprise me." He pulled out of my arms and sat up.

"Keep going to school and get your fucking exams."

Edgar rolled his eyes. "If I must."

"You must."

He nodded. "All right."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Go get a shower and get some sleep. You can have that room you slept in before. We'll get your stuff moved in tomorrow night."

"Thank you, David." He left, and I lost consciousness before he'd even closed the door behind him.

When I woke again at dusk, the house was silent. I hoped Edgar had gone to school and then the store afterwards. I was about to leave the house when Michael turned up with a large plastic bag.

"What's that?" I looked down as he placed it on the hall floor.

"Edgar's stuff. I'm sorry. He's out of control. Mom can't deal with him."

I shook my head. "I know all about it. He was here last night. Have you seen him?"

"No. Sam said he was in school, but some other kids were picking on him because he looked like he hadn't seen a shower for days and he reeked of alcohol. It's a wonder his teachers didn't send him home."

"Shit. I was about to go to the store and look for him. I said he could live here for the time being."

"Great. That's not gonna make things easy for Star and Laddie and me." Michael frowned. "We can handle him or Sam being around in small doses, but not all the time."

"Well, you know what to do, don't you?" I snapped.

"You know I won't ever do that. Nor will Star." He glared back.

"I _meant_ stay out of the house. You can do that, I'm sure, if you can't control yourself. Edgar stays. Since everyone else has given up on him, it seems he's my responsibility."

"I'm sure he'll be delighted." Michael walked away to his bike. Moments later, he was gone.

I went back inside and took the bag of things up to what had become Edgar's room. I didn't want to dump it there for him to find, like all his belongings had been thrown out. I tipped out the bag onto the bed and sorted through it.

Mostly, it was clothes, army style, and a few shirts and pants for school. I hung them all in the wardrobe, and put socks and underwear in a drawer, shoes and boots in a corner of the room. He had a bunch of comics, some school books, a Walkman, and a handful of tapes by bands I'd never heard of. Hardly anything for a teenager. Then again, this was only the stuff he'd taken to the Emersons' house—there was probably more in the apartment above the store.

I left the house and made my way to the boardwalk. Thursday night wasn't the most buzzing night of the week, but the food stalls were busy, and the rides were running. I called in at the video store first, out of reluctant courtesy, to see Michael's mother.

"Mrs Emerson," I greeted with a nod.

"I do wish you wouldn't keep coming in here," she said. "You intimidate the customers."

"I intimidate you, only because you know what I am. They don't." I smiled. "I'm sorry about Edgar. I just wanted to let you know I appreciate you trying to help him. He'll be okay."

"What does this have to do with you? I find it worrying that you have any involvement in what happens to him."

"You think I'm gonna make him my next meal or something?" I teased. "I won't. And you needn't worry about Sam, either. I can't help what I am."

"I'm beginning to have second thoughts about Edgar. He shouldn't be around you and your… people." Lucy Emerson frowned.

"You can't mess him around. You threw him out, remember? He needs somebody he can trust."

"And that's you, is it?"

"It would seem so. Good evening." I left her gaping and tutting in my wake.

There were a few people in the comic book store when I walked in. Edgar noticed me and actually smiled. I flicked through some comics and chose another one for Laddie while I waited for him to serve everyone. When the last person left, I went to pay for my comic.

"If it's for Laddie, you can have it," he said.

"Ah, but if it's for me I have to pay, right?" I teased.

"You don't like Batman."

"You got me." I looked him up and down. He looked clean and fresh, and he smelled of my shower gel instead of drink. "Michael said you had a hard time at school."

He shrugged. "I went looking like a homeless person. I didn't have any of my stuff at the house and I was too late to come back here or go to the Emersons. I showered after school and changed my clothes. Thanks for putting my stuff away."

"That's okay. If there's anything here you want, you can bring it over later. You look better," I added. The dark circles under his eyes were almost gone. He even looked relaxed. I wasn't under any illusion it was all fixed now, but at least there was a small improvement. There was also a small problem—for me, anyway. The scent of Edgar's blood was tantalising, and the more time I spent around him, the more it bothered me. I had to restrain myself from licking my lips, and I tried not to look at him too much, in case my hunger came across as lust on my face. I would have to ensure I hunted more regularly than normal, otherwise having him at the house with me all the time was going to be more difficult than I'd anticipated. Michael had voiced his opinion on how he, Star, and Laddie would feel, but I hadn't considered myself.


	7. Chapter 7

A week passed without any more drama. Edgar went to school, came home and changed, and went to work in the store. He didn't drink, at least that I was aware of, and he was less surly and bad-tempered than usual. He seemed to be making a real effort.

Dwayne brought Laddie over a few times, and he and Edgar read comics or played video games. Sam hung out with Edgar at the store, and Michael watched the store while the pair of them went out for food. Star made a few meals at the house, enough so that anyone who wanted some could have it. I hunted three times that week to take the edge off, but I still had to steal myself not to breathe when Edgar was close. He smelled so fucking good, and I couldn't let him know that was bothering me.

Mrs Frog didn't call once to check on Edgar. I asked a couple of times and he said she hadn't been in touch. I wondered if she'd bother to come back—she didn't seem to give a shit about him. Saturday, I expected him to work in the store all day, but when I woke at dusk, something was different.

The scent of Edgar's blood filled my nostrils, my fangs were already pricking my lower lip, and my dick was rock hard. I could hear his heartbeat, slow and steady as he slept. _Shit._

I opened my eyes. He lay curled against my side, his head on my shoulder. He was on top of the covers and fully dressed, whereas I was naked under a single sheet. That was the least of my concerns. His neck was inches from my mouth, and he smelled divine. My fangs lengthened and my mouth watered. I imagined turning my head, nuzzling his neck and breathing in deep, gently pressing my fangs into his soft skin and tasting his blood. What the fuck was he even doing in my room?

I carefully slid away from him, trying not to disturb him. If he woke and found me in the state I was currently in, he'd panic. I got out of the bed, snatched up a pair of underwear and put them on, then fled the room, heaving a sigh of relief as I made it to the bathroom without waking him. A freezing shower didn't help my situation at all. My arousal wasn't from having Edgar's body close to me, but from the scent of his blood. I needed to feed and that was the only thing that would make this feeling go away.

Edgar continued to sleep as I put on some clothes, then shot downstairs to find the jewelled bottle containing my blood. I didn't like to drink my own unless it was necessary, but on this occasion, it was vital. I gulped half the contents of the bottle, relieved when the immediate desperation lessened, and my dick softened. Then I went back upstairs. Edgar was awake, sitting up and looking awkward and embarrassed.

"Sorry." He stood up quickly. "I couldn't sleep. Nightmares, you know? I tried not to disturb you."

"Doesn't matter."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, I'm not mad. It's just difficult waking up and finding a human next to you when you're hungry."

"Shit. I'm sorry." He took a step away from me. "I didn't think about that."

I grinned. "I'm fine, don't worry. Maybe don't make a habit of that, though."

He went to the bathroom and I left him alone to get changed. Thirty minutes later, he went to the store. I went hunting and gorged myself to get the scent of him out of my head. Then I found someone to fuck.

I kept Leo around for a few months. He knew what I was, and he was wary, but I swore I wouldn't bite. I never brought him to the house, because I didn't think it appropriate for me to be fucking there in case Edgar showed up while I was at it. During that time, he seemed to be better and I didn't want to do anything that would set him back. He went to school and even did homework. His grades were reasonable, he didn't seem to be getting in trouble, and he didn't report nightmares or any other worries.

I never smelled drink on him, but maybe he was just clever. Michael told me a few times that Sam had seen him with a bottle of something, but I never caught him. Not until the day after I decided to get rid of Leo because like others before him, he was getting too clingy. I wanted someone I could be with long-term, but he wasn't that person. I couldn't pinpoint what it was about him that wasn't suitable. He was attractive and sexy, he smelled delicious, he made me laugh and he was amazing in bed, but I wasn't tempted to try to change him and keep him with me. There was just something missing.

Dwayne was in the same boat. He'd had a few brief relationships with women in the hopes that he'd find someone to keep with him, but none of them had made the grade. Perhaps we were both just too fussy.

I got back to the house before dawn on Sunday and found Edgar watching TV, with a litter of beer bottles around him. He looked up blearily and sighed. "I know what you're going to say."

"What are you doing?" I frowned.

"What's it look like? I'm allowed. It's my birthday."

"What?" I thought for a second. It couldn't have been a year, could it? A year since I killed the uncle? A year since I'd taken him under my wing and looked out for him as best I could.

"I'm seventeen today." Edgar hiccupped, then laughed hollowly. "I'm celebrating."

"I'm so sorry. Why didn't you say anything?" I sat beside him and took the bottle out of his hand.

"Why, so you could throw me a party? Get me to blow out the candles and make a wish?"

"What would you wish for?"

"I don't know. Something I can't have, probably. That's usually the case."

"Do you know what you want?" I made the mistake of breathing in, and his blood sent my senses into a whirl of excitement. I squashed it down and stopped breathing.

"Let's see. Memory loss would be good. Maybe finding somebody who doesn't hate me as much as I do myself. A family who actually cared two hoots whether I'm alive or dead might be nice, but maybe that's just being greedy."

"Have you heard from your mother?" I asked. She'd never come back or contacted him, as far as I knew.

"Yeah. She sold the store and the apartment. The new owners are taking it over next week."

"Christ, Edgar, I'm sorry." I slid my arm around his shoulders and gave him a sideways hug.

He pulled away. "Don't touch me."

"I didn't mean anything by it, you know that," I said quietly.

"Exactly. Something else I can't have." He snatched the bottle out of my hand, tipped it up, and drained the contents in big gulps.

I sat there, stunned, listening to his rapid heartbeat and the beer trickling down his gut. I'd never have thought he would think about me like that, but maybe it made sense. He trusted me. He knew I wouldn't hurt him, and he knew I understood everything he'd been through and felt and thought. Maybe I'd made a huge mistake and let him get too close.

"I shouldn't have said that." He tossed the empty bottle onto the floor and reached for another.

"You won't even remember this conversation in a few hours," I grunted.

"I fucking hope not." Edgar flushed and opened the bottle. I tried to take it from him, but he jabbed me hard in the ribs with his elbow, then upended it and began to drink it, long slow gulps without stopping.

I didn't try to take it away from him again. My imagination was running wild. What if he was a year older? Would I want him like that? I'd already avoided thinking along those lines before, and here I was again thinking exactly that. He wasn't a child anymore, not really. I wouldn't do anything with a seventeen-year-old, but it didn't stop me imagining what it would be like to kiss his thin lips, run my fingers through his soft hair which he'd been growing out for the past few months, stroke my hands over his body, that I'd never seen one inch of except for his arms on the occasions when he wore a T-shirt with no shirt over the top. I shut down my thoughts. He wasn't for me. Especially when he was still such a mess. Not forgetting the fact that I couldn't be with a human long-term, and he hated my kind.

Edgar reached for another bottle, the last one, by the look of it. He glanced at me, as if daring me to stop him, and pried off the cap.

"You need to sober up," I said half-heartedly.

"I need you to leave me alone. You could always join me. Maybe if you had a few, you wouldn't nag so much."

"Vampires can't drink."

"Why not?"

"Because alcohol doesn't affect us, so it's pointless. And expensive. Where did you get this stuff from?"

"I paid someone to buy it for me. If my fucking mother's gonna sell my home out from under me, she's not getting another cent of what I make from the comics."

I didn't say anything else. I figured I would just take care of him when he passed out and worry about it the next day. He would feel like shit and probably be embarrassed. I wouldn't achieve anything by forcing him to stop when he'd already drunk—I counted—seven bottles.

The last bottle fell to the floor, spilling the remains of its contents, and Edgar slumped onto the couch cushions. Within minutes he was snoring softly. I doubted he'd wake for hours. I left him there while I collected a large glass of water and a bucket and put them in his room beside the bed, then turned back the covers. I went back downstairs and carefully gathered him up into my arms. He grunted softly and clumsily lifted one arm to wrap it around my neck. His hair brushed my cheek, and he turned his face towards me, warm breath fanning my skin.

For a moment I couldn't stop myself tucking my face into his hair and breathing in the scent of him. Beneath the smell of beer, his blood was sweet and strong, taunting me. We were in the same boat really. He'd listed all the things he couldn't have, and this was something I couldn't have. I would never bite him, but hell, how I wanted to. I could imagine what he'd taste like—warm, coppery, sweet, like nectar.

"Get a grip, David," I muttered as I jerked my head up. "Jesus Christ." My fangs were out and if I'd let my imagination stretch a little more, Edgar would have been in real danger. I made my way up the stairs and lowered him onto the bed. He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow. I paused for a moment, then unlaced his boots and took them off, before I pulled the covers over him. Then I left him and closed the door behind me. In minutes, I'd fled the house and was hunting down my next meal.


	8. Chapter 8

I didn't return to the house until the sky was lightening with the approach of dawn. I hadn't seen any of the others while I was out killing three unsuspecting homeless people and trying to get the scent of Edgar's blood out of my head.

When I went in, he was in the kitchen, sitting at the breakfast bar and nursing a large mug of coffee. He looked as rough as I would expect. He didn't look up, but colour flooded his face and he hung his head. "What did I do last night?"

"Nothing. You drank and passed out."

"I said some stupid shit."

"I'm surprised you can remember anything. I should think most of it was just in your head," I said, hoping to make him feel better. It seemed to work.

"Yeah? Well, that's good. Some of the stuff I was thinking… you'd have thought I was a dick."

"I don't think you're a dick for missing your family and feeling lonely."

He heaved a sigh of relief. "I suppose it could have been worse. What day is it?"

"Monday."

"Shit. I have to go to school," he groaned. "Sorry about yesterday. I was just sick of being me."

"It'll get better." I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"You think? It's been a year. I'm a mess. Drinking is the only thing that makes it go away."

"You wouldn't before, but would you consider talking to someone?" I suggested.

"You mean a shrink? Maybe."

"We could find one and see how it goes, if you want?"

"Yeah. All right. I still don't know why you put up with me. You're supposed to want to kill me." He laughed. "And I'm supposed to want to kill you. I haven't hunted since I lost Alan."

"I never wanted to kill you," I said. "I care about you. I just want you to be okay."

He looked up at me, brown eyes full of longing. Then he got up abruptly and went to take a shower. I went to bed and fell asleep before he even finished in the bathroom.

I woke too late to do anything about finding a psychiatrist. Most offices didn't operate in the evenings, but I found a few possibilities in the Yellow Pages and entrusted Michael with calling them the next day. Half vampires could stay awake during the day to a certain extent, and he promised to do it first thing in the morning. He seemed to dislike me less than he had a few months earlier, and Star said he was grudgingly impressed by me taking care of Edgar as well as I could. If only he knew about the thoughts in my head when I smelled his blood.

Michael found a shrink that offered appointments on Saturdays and booked one for Edgar in two weeks' time, the first available slot. Edgar wasn't happy.

"What the fuck is this to do with you?" he demanded of Michael.

"I asked him to call. I can't do it, can I?" I said.

"You could have asked me."

"You said you'd go," I reminded him.

"I said maybe."

"And then you said, "all right." Try it. If you don't like it, we'll review things. But since this first appointment is made, you can go to it."

Edgar opened his mouth again to protest.

"It's not up for negotiation," I added.

"Fuck you. You won't know whether I go or not anyway, since you'll be _dead to the world_."

"I'll take you to the appointment," Michael told him. "And I'll wait outside for you. You should think yourself lucky you have people watching out for you."

"People!" Edgar snorted.

"Whatever. Don't throw it back in our faces. Don't you know how much Sam worries about you? He misses you."

"I hang out with him."

"But you're grouchy and unpleasant, and you got him drunk twice now."

"Twice?" I groaned.

"He didn't have to drink," Edgar growled. "I didn't fucking force the bottle down his neck."

"The least you can do is go to this appointment," Michael went on. "Like David said, if you don't like it, quit. Give up on yourself and all of us, if you must."

"Fine! I'll go!" Edgar snapped. "If only to keep you fucking bloodsuckers off my back." He stomped off to his room like a sulky child.

Michael glanced at me and raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure you want this responsibility?"

"Too late now." I grinned ruefully. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "If that was Sam, I would hope someone would try to help him."

Edgar went to the appointment. Michael took him and sat in the waiting room while he refused to talk to the shrink for an hour, or so he said. He wouldn't give anything away except to say that he "hadn't said anything" to her, but he didn't fight about the second appointment she'd arranged for him the next week, so I figured it had to have done some good.

Another week passed and there was no drama. When I woke the following Saturday night, Star was in the house to report that Michael was sleeping in after having taken Edgar to the shrink again. Apparently, this time he'd come out growling and swearing about the woman being a nosy bitch that got far too much out of him that he hadn't wanted to say.

I grinned. "Sounds like I'm not throwing my money down the toilet after all."

"You're paying for the shrink?" Star asked.

"Who else is gonna pay? Where is he?"

"I don't know. Since the comic book store was sold, he doesn't seem to know what to do with himself."

"Let's go out," I said. "It was his birthday a couple of weeks ago. No one even knew. Let's do something."

"Are you serious?" Her eyes widened. "And do what?"

"I don't know. When was the last time you went out for dinner? Does Michael take you out on proper dates?"

"No."

"I should have words with him. Where are the others?"

"Dwayne took Laddie to the video store. The others are hunting."

"See if you can round them up and get them back here. Find somewhere we can go and have a meal. I'll find Edgar."

She stared at me, bemused.

"What?"

"You're… not like you. You're too nice lately."

"Make the most of it." I headed for the beach.

Edgar was sitting in his usual spot, but he wasn't accompanied by bottles. Instead, he was reading a comic entitled _Vampires Everywhere._ I sat down beside him.

"What are you doing? Research?"

"Something like that. It's time I got back to doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Alan wouldn't be pleased to see me hanging out with a bunch of bloodsuckers and not killing any. The place will be overrun."

"We've been taking care of them. Paul and Marko haven't anything better to do right now."

"Well, it should be my job."

"It still can be. How did it go this morning?" I asked.

"Okay, I guess."

"You talked, or so I heard."

"A bit."

"Did you make another appointment?"

"Yes."

"That's good. You want to go out?"

"Huh?" He turned to look at me, eyes wide.

"We're all going out somewhere to eat. Star's choosing a place."

"Oh." His face fell a little. "Sure. That'd be cool, I guess."

"Great. Let's go." I jumped up and he followed me back to the house. Everyone else was there by then, including a very excited Laddie. Going to a proper place to eat was something he'd never done. He went out for burgers with Dwayne, or with Michael and Star often enough, but Star had found a pizza restaurant a few miles up the coast where she'd booked a table, and he was practically jumping up and down.

"I got one of the outdoor tables," she said.

"Good choice." Dwayne grinned. It would be harder for everyone except Edgar, in an enclosed space with hordes of humans.

We rode our bikes to the restaurant, doubling up with Star on Michael's, Laddie on Dwayne's, and Edgar with me. He clung on, arms tight around my waist, face much to close to my ear. Whenever he spoke or whooped and hollered in excitement as we raced along, warm breath brushed my skin and sent a shiver through me. I seemed less able to suppress my thoughts than usual and struggled to keep my fangs retracted.

We spent three hours at the restaurant, stuffing ourselves with pasta and pizza, drinking an assortment of sodas. By silent mutual agreement, Dwayne, Paul and I who were all old enough to drink, decided against beer and drank coke instead. Edgar seemed to enjoy himself, chatting and laughing, with no hint of his usual scowl.

Everyone stayed at the house that night and the next day, with Michael and Star taking their old room, Laddie in his, and Paul bunking in the spare room next to Edgar's. Marko crashed on the couch.

After that, we tried to get together and go out every few weeks. Edgar kept seeing the shrink, and Dwayne and I increased our hunting so we could build up a stash of wallets from our victims to pay for the mounting psychiatrist bills. Edgar didn't know anything about that, and I didn't intend for him to. It was better that he didn't think about what it cost or who was paying. His final exams were looming, and I didn't want anything to fuck things up for him at this late stage. He managed to do that all by himself.

Dwayne had a girlfriend again—one who accepted what he was but wouldn't consider changing. I was tempted to give her a sip from my bottle of blood without her knowing to help him out, but he wouldn't thank me for interfering. Instead, I found a girl myself. I couldn't bring myself to pick up another guy and as reluctant as I was to admit it, it was because every male I looked at wasn't enough. Edgar was probably three or four months away from being eighteen, and the closer he got to it, the less I could prevent myself thinking about him the way I'd told myself I wouldn't. I avoided him as much as I could, which he picked up on very quickly.

"Have I done something wrong?" he asked one Sunday night.

"No. Why would you think that?"

"You're hardly ever here in the evenings." His eyes narrowed. "Actually, it's probably because of that girl you're fucking."

"What do you know about that?"

"Laddie said you had a girlfriend that looks like Madonna."

"She's not my girlfriend," I said, uncomfortable.

"What is she, then? Your next meal?" He sneered. "I thought you were into guys, anyway. Can't you make your mind up?"

"I've always liked both," I admitted.

"Oh, yeah. You had both Michael and Star at once, didn't you?" He ground his teeth. "Laddie said you all used to sleep in the same bed."

"Why are you talking about this?"

"Something my shrink said. "Be honest with the people in your life about how you feel." How do you think I feel when the one who's my—what the hell are you anyway? My guardian? How do you think I feel when my guardian fucks half of Santa Carla and kills the other half?"

"That's not true and you know it."

He shrugged one shoulder. "But you did have Michael and Star together. Then there was a freak called Stevie that dressed up like a girl. There was another one called Leo who disappeared. Did you kill him?"

"No."

"And a few others in between. And now Madonna. Is that what happens when you have an abusive past? You turn into a whore?"

My hand shot out and slapped his face before I could stop myself. The moment my palm made contact with his cheek, I tried to take it back, but it was too late. He flew across the room, hit the wall, and collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Oh shit. Edgar!" I threw myself towards him, skidding to a halt when he cowered away from me and threw up his arms to protect his head. I lowered myself to my knees, horrified. "Edgar, look at me." I grasped his wrists and pulled his arms away from his face. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to do that. Are you hurt?"

He just stared at me, panting, blood racing through his veins. He wasn't bleeding, thank God. I would have smelled it more clearly.

"Edgar, I'm so sorry," I repeated. "I promised never to hurt you. Never to hurt one hair on your head and look what I did."

He licked his lips and swallowed. "I was vile to you."

"Doesn't matter. Nothing you could say or do deserves that. Nothing. It won't happen again." I loosened my grip on his wrists and slid my hands up his arms to his shoulders. "I care about you so much. I hope you know that."

He nodded. "I didn't mean what I said."

"Yeah, you did. I guess you're right in a way. Madonna is history, by the way." I shot him a tentative smile. "She's not what I want."

"Good. Someone like that isn't good enough for you." He returned my smile. Then he pulled away from me, scrambled to his feet, and went up to his room.

I felt guilty about it for days. I hurt him—actually hit him—and it killed me. He didn't seem any different the next day, but it had to have bothered him. He kept out of my way as much as possible, claiming he was in his room studying for his exams. I felt like shit.

As soon as I saw the girl—Shona, her name was—I ended it. She made a huge scene on the boardwalk and Marko came to my rescue. I doubt she saw the next morning, but I didn't ask, and he didn't tell.

As far as I was aware, Edgar went to his exams and should have completed six by the end of the week. But then there was a message on the answer machine from one of Edgar's teachers, assuming he was calling Mrs Frog. How he got the number, I had no idea. Edgar had missed all his exams that week, and in fact had been suspended for drinking and having bottles of vodka and rum in his locker. The school had sent two letters which I hadn't seen. He was banned from school premises except for the times of his exams, which he hadn't bothered to attend.

Angry and worried, I went hunting before I looked for him. Then I spent several hours wandering the beach, the boardwalk, and looking in all the places I thought I might find him, telling myself not to lose my temper. If I hurt him again, I would never forgive myself. I'd have thought his latest downfall was my fault if it hadn't been for the school saying he was suspended ten days earlier.

Eventually, I returned to the house. He hadn't been there when I left, but he could be back by now. The door opened before I could reach for the handle and Dwayne faced me, tense and anxious.

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

"We have a huge problem."

"Surprise me." I frowned and stepped past him into the house. What had Edgar done now?

"Edgar's drinking."

"I said surprise me."

"David!" He grabbed my arm and halted me in the hallway. "Listen to me. He found the fucking bottle. He's had some of your blood."


	9. Chapter 9

The bottom fell out of my world. I knew he'd wormed his way into my heart, I just hadn't wanted to admit it. He'd been too young and too hurt, and I'd kept my distance. I'd tried not to breathe, tried not to think about how much I wanted to taste him, and later, how much I wanted to kiss him. But somehow in the past two years, I'd fallen for the bad-tempered, sarcastic little bastard. Now he would be half-vampire and no matter how it happened, he would blame me. He would probably hate me. And he would become something he despised. It didn't matter that he was fucked up, drinking, probably poking around the house trying to find a hidden bottle to drown his thoughts and accidentally getting that fucking bottle I should have hidden better. It was still my fault. It was all my fault.

"David?" Dwayne gripped my shoulder and shook me. "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay? This is my fault. I should have taken better care of him. I should have kept him safe from this."

"You did everything you could. You didn't have to take him in. He doesn't belong with us, David. You changed your whole life to help him."

"Yeah, well maybe he'd have been better off without me. His life was shit but look at it now. He'll hate himself."

"Maybe, but you're still here. You do know how he feels about you, don't you?"

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Haven't you noticed the way he looks at you? Not at first, granted. But the last, maybe six or eight months? He looks at you like the sun shines out of your ass. He's smitten."

"Don't be stupid, Dwayne," I growled, denying it even as I recalled the occasional looks of longing he'd given me, and his words on his seventeenth birthday when I told him my comforting hug didn't mean anything. "_Something else I can't have._"

"I'm not. Star noticed, too. The others aren't usually around enough, or aware enough to pick up on it. Edgar wants you, David. Trust me. And if he can fall for a vampire, maybe he can accept being one, too."

"Jesus fucking Christ," I muttered, alarmed and excited at the same time. I knew he was right, but I couldn't quite imagine anything other than Edgar hating me.

"He needs you." He gestured at the lounge room door. "He's out of it now, but it won't be long before it hits. I'm sorry I didn't get here earlier, but he'd already got stuck into it."

"It's not your fault." I left him and went to Edgar. He was wandering aimlessly around the room in circles, head tipped back as he stared at the ceiling, bare feet finding their way around without once bumping into the furniture. "Edgar?"

He tilted his head forward and his eyes rolled, out of focus for a moment before they met mine. "I've been drinking. Sorry." He giggled. "I feel weird."

"Shit, Edgar. What have you done?" I went to him and slid my arms around him as his knees buckled. He gripped my shoulders, then slid his arms up around my neck. Suddenly his body was pressed against mine, his warmth seeping through his clothes and mine to touch my skin. His heart thundered in his chest and the scent of his blood filled my nostrils, making my mouth water. I breathed in, unable to stop myself. My fangs lengthened and I turned my face away, agonised. I couldn't do this now—maybe not ever when he realised what he was and ran away from me, which he was bound to do. "Edgar, come and sit down. I have to talk to you."

"What about?" He looked up, his gorgeous brown eyes completely trusting.

"Come here." I backed towards the sofa, taking him with me. He was still in my arms, and I didn't push him away this time. Instead, I sank down on the cushions and pulled him onto my lap. He curled his legs up, still holding onto my neck, and rested his head on his bicep, so close to me I could feel soft puffs of air from his nose on my cheek as he breathed. I tightened my arms around him.

"Aren't you mad?" he murmured.

"No, I'm not mad." I squeezed my eyes shut, hating that I had to say what I was about to say. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"You are now."

"But I wasn't a little while ago when you picked up that bottle."

"I'm sorry. Sometimes it just makes me feel better. Well, not better, but, you know, I don't think."

"Isn't the shrink helping?"

"Yes, but—never mind. Sometimes, I just want to forget about shit." He was sobering, thinking properly. Now was the time.

"Edgar, the bottle you drank from tonight didn't have alcohol in it."

"Why do I feel so weird, then?"

"It was… my blood," I choked. "Fuck, Edgar, I'm sorry. I thought it was hidden well enough. I didn't realise you were still having such a tough time. I never wanted this to happen." I held him tighter still, sure that it would be the only chance I got. I pressed my face into his neck and took a long shuddering breath. He smelled so good; felt so good. I ran my hand down his back, then up under his hair to his neck.

"What are you telling me?" he asked slowly.

"You've done your research. You know what it means."

"So, I'm… like Michael and Laddie and Star?"

"Yes." Reluctantly, I loosened my grip and looked up. His eyes were glazed over, unfocused, looking through me rather than at me. His nails dug into my shoulder and his body began to tremble.

I expected him to leap up, yell and scream and curse, maybe hit me, but he didn't do any of that. He slid off my lap and stood up, ran a hand through his hair. "Shit," he said. Then he walked slowly out of the room and went upstairs.

"David?" Dwayne appeared in the doorway.

"You heard, I'm sure." I got up.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Maybe he'll be okay when he gets used to it."

"I've never seen him like this. You know what he's like. Foul-mouthed, rude, bad-tempered. This isn't like him."

"It's probably shock. Maybe leave him alone to think about it for a while. I'll stay." Dwayne went to sit down and switched on the TV.

I hovered, not knowing what to do with myself. I didn't want to let Edgar out of my sight for too long. I was terrified something awful would happen, but I didn't want to crowd him either, while he tried to get his head around what I'd told him.

Ten minutes passed before the screaming started, and Dwayne and I both literally flew out of the room and up the stairs at the same time. The screams, and the strong scent of blood, came from the bathroom. Glass shattered and fell on the floor, objects crashed around the room, and Edgar howled like a banshee. I opened the door, dreading what I would find.

Edgar spun around to face me, and I took in the scene in front of me in a second. He had blood all over him—both his wrists cut open and dripping, splatters on the floor, his clothes, his face. A bloody razor blade lay in the sink along with broken shards from the mirror. His bare feet were cut and bleeding from the glass on the floor. But the wounds were already starting to heal.

"What the fuck have you done to me?" he cried. "Look at me!" He held up both hands, showing me the cuts which were slowly closing up.

"Oh, Edgar," I groaned. "You can't die. Not like that."

"Then how? I have to stake myself?" His face paled and his hands fell to his sides. "I don't know why I'm asking. I know the answer. I have to live like this."

I stepped towards him, expecting him to back away, but he stood there, gazing at me helplessly, silently asking me to do something. There was nothing I could do, except try to help him deal with it.

"I'm so sorry," I said. "I should have taken better care of you. I should have hidden it better. Like in my room."

"It's not your fault. I'm fucked up—self-destructing." He hung his head and began to cry silently, tears tracking through the blood on his face and dripping onto his shirt.

The smell of it didn't even arouse me like it usually did—I was too distraught and racked with guilt. Watching him so lost and hurt made me want to burst into tears along with him. Instead, I swallowed the lump in my throat and pulled him into my arms.

I lost track of time. We stood there in the bathroom, clinging to each other, surrounded by blood and broken glass. Edgar's wrists and feet healed completely, and his tears dried. I didn't want to let go of him, but eventually, I pried myself off him. "You need to get in the shower," I murmured.

"Yeah."

"Be careful you don't cut your feet again. I'll clear up the glass." I left him alone while I fetched a brush and a bucket. Dwayne was outside the door, waiting to see if he were needed.

"Are you all right?"

"Not really." I sniffed and tears I didn't know had filled my eyes rolled down my face.

"I'm sorry."

"You should go," I told him. "We'll be okay."

"We'll be at the cavern if you need us." Dwayne left, and I went back upstairs to clean up the glass.

The shower was running, and I hesitated outside the door. "Edgar? It is okay if I come in?"

"Yeah."

I slipped into the room and avoided looking at the vaguely opaque shower door as I crouched to sweep up the glass, then cleared the remainder out of the sink. I wiped up the blood, too, and removed the remains of the mirror from the wall. There was no point in keeping it there now. Edgar had used it so he could shave and whatever else, but he wouldn't be able to see himself any longer; nor would he need to shave.

I took my time downstairs, but he didn't emerge, and eventually I went back to the bathroom. "You gonna come out and talk to me?"

The water stopped and a moment later he emerged with a towel around his waist, droplets of water running out of his hair and over his chest. The scent of his blood, still half human, was as strong as ever, and the sight and smell of him combined was enough to send me into an instant frenzy of excitement. I squashed it as well as I could, but I had to shove my hands into my pockets to disguise my erection.

"You need to shower too," Edgar said. "My blood's on you."

I looked down at myself. My white shirt had droplets of blood soaked into it from where I'd held him against me. "Yeah, I'll just be a minute."

It took me seconds to remove my shirt and wash my face and upper body in the sink. I could feel Edgar's gaze on me the whole time, burning into my skin. He must have been able to see how turned on I was, as I couldn't hide it with my hands busy washing myself. He didn't move a muscle or say anything, but he continued to stare until I turned to face him. He appeared to be fixated with my chest.

"What is it?" I ran a hand over my chest awkwardly, wondering if he liked what he saw, or was just uncomfortable. He didn't seem uncomfortable, only curious.

"Your nipple is pierced."

"Oh! Yeah. I'll put a shirt on."

"Did it hurt?"

"No. I had it done after I changed."

"Can you feel pain at all?"

"Yes, but it takes a lot. Fire and the sun hurt like a bastard. Holy water is like acid. But you could stab a knife through my hand and I'd barely feel it."

Edgar nodded. "Makes sense. My wrists don't hurt." He held one up and peered at it. Nothing remained of the cut other than a vivid red line, which would have vanished by the morning. "I don't want to be this."

"I know that. I would give anything to have got back sooner. I never meant for you to find it. I never would have tried to change you. Ever. Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't interfered two years ago."

"Don't say that!" Edgar growled, sounding like his old self. "If you hadn't _interfered_, as you put it, I'd be dead. Don't you know that? I'd have done the same thing Alan did! And since then—I don't know what I would have done without you."

The thought of him hanging himself like Alan or slashing his wrists when he was human and wouldn't heal, horrified me. I wanted to grab him in my arms again and never let go, but I kept my distance. He had nothing on but a towel, and I was wary of making him nervous. But then he slumped suddenly, sitting down on the lid of the toilet. He dropped his head into his hands, his heartbeat slow and sluggish. He needed both blood and food, his energy sapped by healing himself so fast, and by the usual effects of the half change.

I put my hands under his arms and pulled him onto his feet, supporting him when he didn't seem to have the strength to stand. The food part would be easy—there was leftover pasta in the refrigerator that Star had made. I wasn't so sure how easy it would be to get him to take blood.


	10. Chapter 10

I took Edgar to his room and helped him into bed. He threw the towel on the floor as he collapsed under the sheet I held up. The moment his head hit the pillow, his eyes closed, and his heartbeat slowed more. I raced downstairs to get the food from the kitchen and find the bottle of blood. I located the bottle beside the couch. I held it up and peered at the level of blood in it—he'd had about two-thirds of it, which wouldn't be enough. I doubted I'd be able to get him to feed from me, so I fetched the small funnel from the kitchen and stuck it in the neck of the bottle. A quick stab of my thumbnail into my wrist, and my blood trickled into the bottle and began to fill it.

When I went back to Edgar, he was semi-conscious, but he opened his eyes and looked at me. I sat on the edge of the bed and helped him sit up. "Think you can drink some more of this?" I offered him the bottle.

"No. No way."

"You need it. That's why you feel the way you do."

"I'll just eat that." He eyed the plate of food I'd placed on the cupboard beside the bed.

"It'll stop you feeling hungry, but it won't take away the weakness."

Edgar groaned and turned his face away. "I can't."

"Would you rather take it from me?"

"What?" He turned horrified eyes on me. "No! Are you crazy?"

"You had it before," I reminded him.

"I thought it was wine!"

I cocked an eyebrow. "And I'm guessing you won't take it from a human."

He gave me a look that told me I was a fucking idiot.

"Edgar, if you don't feed, you won't be able to get out of this bed. You'll get weaker and weaker. You won't die, but you won't be able to move much, and your throat and chest will hurt. The longing for it will hurt. Just try." I took the cap off the bottle and let him smell the contents. His nostrils flared and his brown eyes paled and turned gold, then yellow.

"I'll be sick."

"You won't, I promise."

He glanced at the bottle. "There's more in it that before."

"I filled it up." I showed him the small red mark on my wrist.

"Doesn't that make you weak?"

"Not for such a small amount."

He lifted his gaze to mine. "I really screwed myself over, didn't I?"

"It was an accident."

"One I'm stuck with forever. Do we live forever?"

"I suppose. Max was over two hundred years old."

"Shit." Edgar's nostrils flared again, and he licked his lips. "I've always hated fucking vampires."

"I know."

"You won't leave me like this, will you?"

"I'm never gonna leave you." I lifted the bottle so it was closer to his nose. He gulped, swallowing the saliva that would have pooled in his mouth. "Try it," I repeated. "You'll feel better."

He raised his hand to take the bottle from me, but it shook with weakness and he let it fall back into his lap. I lifted the bottle to his mouth and tilted it just enough for the still-warm fluid to touch his lips. His tongue emerged and after one taste, he opened his mouth and wrapped his lips around the neck of the bottle. I held it until he'd gulped about a quarter of the contents, and his strength returned enough to take it from me. He drank half the bottle, then lowered it.

"It's sweet," he said in surprise.

"Yeah. Do you feel better?"

"Stronger." He grimaced and shivered. "Sick. I just drank your fucking blood."

"It's hard to get your head around at first."

"Was it hard for you?"

"Yes, even though I asked for it. The concept of drinking someone's blood creeped me out, but I got over it. The first few times I had to steal myself to do it, but then it just seemed natural to me."

"I can't imagine that ever happening to me. I could never kill someone."

"You don't have to worry about that yet."

"What, you're just gonna drain your blood out every day for me?"

"You won't need it every day after the first few days, but yes, if that's what you want."

"I don't want any of this. It's like a fucking drug." He began to drink again, tilting the bottle more as he drained it, his throat moving vigorously as he gulped it down. When it was empty, he gave it back to me and shuffled around awkwardly, his face a picture of embarrassment. I could smell his arousal and I couldn't help a small smirk.

"Feel better?" I teased.

"Fuck off. Is this normal?"

"Yes."

"Is that why you fuck so many people?"

I sighed. "There haven't been that many. It probably just seems that way. I don't want to fuck around all the time. I want someone I can be with; who'll stay with me. Finding them isn't easy when you only have humans to pick from. Most of them freak out when they find out what you are. It's not easy to be with a human long-term either."

"I've been around for two years," Edgar reminded me.

"Yeah, and sometimes it's been difficult for me, but I could control it. If this hadn't happened, I never would have bitten you."

"I suppose it's easier for Michael and Star, then, being the same."

"They struggle. They won't kill and it hurts them."

"Do you feed them?"

I shook my head. "They feed from animals when it gets too difficult."

"They can do that?"

"Yeah. It stops the discomfort, but that's all. There's no pleasure in it. It's like—" I tried to think of an example. "—Someone who loves steak eating oatmeal with no salt or sugar in it instead."

Edgar wrinkled his nose. "I sometimes wonder if I'll ever be with anyone."

"You will. When you find someone you want."

His pulse sped up and he avoided my eyes. "Maybe I have, but I doubt they'll want me."

I remembered what Dwayne said to me, and what Edgar had said on his seventeenth birthday. I knew he meant me and although I had no intention of doing anything while he was in such a fragile state, I decided to let him know he wasn't wishing for the impossible. I placed one finger under his chin and lifted his head, making him look at me.

"Trust me, they do. They just don't want to rush things. You're still seventeen."

Edgar's eyes, now brown again, warmed, and his lips twitched. "You always bring it back to my age. I'm not a fucking child, David. I know what I want."

"Then we'll take it slow." As much as I wanted to kiss him at that moment, I drew back. He was naked and aroused under that sheet, and I only had so much control. There was plenty of time. "Eat the pasta."

"You're a fucking tease, you know that?" he growled, but he picked up the plate and began to eat.

I took the plate from Edgar when he finished eating and went down to the kitchen to give him a few minutes to himself. I made myself some coffee and Edgar joined me as I was finishing it. He was fully dressed, including boots. "Can we got out and do something?"

"Sure. What do you have in mind?" I hadn't expected him to be enthusiastic about anything. It was hardly any time since he'd tried to kill himself and repeatedly said he didn't want to be what he now was. I wondered if my admission that I wanted him helped. I doubted it would all be plain sailing from now on—he'd struggle with it and when he woke up desperate to feed, he'd probably fight it again, but I meant to make the most of the present.

"A ride on your bike?"

"Okay. Let's go."

I rode south along the coast road, my bike headlight picking out the way in front of me, and Edgar wrapped around me, arms around my waist, thighs against mine, chin on my shoulder. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face, despite my guilt over what had happened to him. If I could live in this moment for a few hours, I could deal with whatever difficulties came later.

After an hour or so, I parked at a viewing point where we could watch waves crashing up onto the beach, broken by a few rocks and boulders. A couple of intrepid surfers risked their lives to conquer the rough waters, and we sat on an outcrop between the road and the sand to watch.

Edgar's heart pounded rapidly, the sound like a drumbeat in my head. The scent of his blood and mine combined made my mouth water, and in the end, I couldn't stop myself. I slid my arm around him and turned him towards me. His lips parted as he looked up at me, giving me an invitation. I leaned in closer, allowed my lips to touch his lightly and drew back. He lifted his hand to my neck and pulled me in again. I covered his mouth with mine, our lips sliding together, a perfect fit. His mouth tasted like heaven, warm, soft, wet, and _him._ I held back on deepening it, until his tongue emerged, seeking mine, then I plunged in, exploring and savouring in a way I'd never done before. His blood raced through his veins, the scent tantalising, ramping up my arousal until my pants crushed my dick. I could smell Edgar's excitement, matching mine as he clung to me and kissed me back like I knew he'd never done either. His first and my first. I could have gone on kissing him all night until the sun rose and burned me to a crisp.

I lost track of how long we sat there, pausing only for him to catch his breath now and then. My dick ached with longing, and I waged a constant battle with my fangs, keeping them retracted when I wanted nothing more than to pull my lips from Edgar's and press them into his neck. But then I felt a sharp scratch on my tongue, and my own blood filled my mouth. Edgar's tongue swept over mine and he moaned in pleasure as he got the taste of me direct from the source rather than diluted by being drained out into a bottle and cooled. Every second that passed, I expected him to jerk away in horror, but he clung to me, pressing his body harder against mine, groaning and whimpering, driving me into a helpless frenzy. I wanted him so badly every fibre in my body ached for it. Then everything stopped and he pulled away, cringing with embarrassment. He came in his pants and the smell of it almost tipped me over the edge. I suppressed my urges with difficulty and took his hand.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Didn't mean to bite you."

"That's something that will happen when you're… excited. You can learn to control it with time, but you don't have to worry about that with me."

He pulled his hand free and rubbed it over his face, avoiding looking at me. "I, um, I—"

"That's normal too. When you bite, the taste is more intense than from a bottle."

"So, you get horny every time you kill someone?" Edgar blurted.

"A lot of the time. It's a hell of a lot more intense if you bite a lover."

"That's weird and creepy." He got up and paced about.

"You didn't read that in any of your comics, huh?"

"Don't joke about it."

"Hey." I waited until he looked at me. "Are you upset about what happened? I don't mean biting me, I mean, that you came."

"Fuck." He turned his face away. "No. Not in the way you mean. I don't feel under pressure or anything like that. I trust you."

"Good. I'm not going to do anything you don't want. The other stuff, you'll get used to. I know it feels weird."

Edgar sat down again. "I'm sorry I fucked up."

"What do you mean?"

"Not this. You did so much for me, and I fucked up at school and got suspended, then skipped my exams."

"We can figure that out. There's probably a way you can take them."

"What's the point?"

"The point is, you have a very long life ahead of you. If you get the exams, you could home-study for a university degree, or get a job. Whatever you want. There are about a million things you can do without actually going to work nine to five."

"You don't," he reminded me.

"No, I don't, but you're a better person than I am. You know where my money comes from?"

"What Max left?"

"Well, yes, to start with, but that's long gone now. We all do the same thing, except for Michael and Star."

He frowned, thinking, then sighed. "Your victims?"

"Yeah. You know Michael does that wood-carving thing and Star sews for people. She did a course for that before she joined us. It's just an idea. If there's something you want to do, you can still do it. You don't have to give up on everything you wanted before. But regardless of what happens, I'll always take care of you."

Edgar nodded. "I'll think about it. Thanks."

"We'd better get back. It'll be dawn soon."

"But we just got here, like, an hour ago." He looked up at the sky, which was a little lighter in the east.

"We've been here all night. Time got away from us." I jumped up and led him back to my bike. "I need to be under cover when the sun rises, and we both need to sleep."


	11. Chapter 11

We raced back to Santa Carla, the bike's engine roaring. Edgar rested against my back, arms tight around me. His weight increased as he leaned on me more. He was slipping away already, and I rode one-handed when I could, gripping his wrists instead to keep him safe behind me. When I pulled up outside the house, the sky was too light for comfort and the orange glow of the sun was well above the horizon.

I climbed off the bike, my movements becoming sluggish. The sun wouldn't hurt Edgar, but it was his first day as a half vampire, and exhaustion would have hit him like it never had before. He could barely keep his eyes open as he shuffled into the house. We dragged ourselves up the stairs, clinging to the rail, almost on our knees by the time we reached the top.

"Come with me." I tugged Edgar into my room, not wanting him to spend his first night alone. He'd wake hungry and in pain, and probably panic. I had, and the others all had too.

"You want me to sleep with you?"

"Sleep is all we'll be doing."

He followed me without another word. I just made it to the bed before I collapsed and passed out, still fully dressed including my coat and boots.

When I opened my eyes, I was flat on my back, arms outstretched. Edgar lay at my side, his head on my bicep, one arm draped across my chest. I lifted my hand and stroked his hair off his face. I lay still, listening to his heartbeat, slow and steady, and his soft breathing as I waited for him to wake.

A gentle tap came on my door and Dwayne peered through the hole left by my fist. I still hadn't got that fixed.

"David? You okay?"

"Yeah."

He opened the door and I put a finger to my lips. He glanced at Edgar and his eyebrows lifted. "We were worried about you. Didn't know where you were. I was here from about three and passed out in my room before you got back," he said in a low voice.

"Yeah, we went out on the bike. Lost track of time."

"Is he all right?"

"Yes."

Edgar grunted and moved his arm. His eyes opened slowly, yellow and hungry. His mouth opened in a snarl, fangs extended. He jerked away from me, snatching his hand from my chest.

"It's all right," I said softly.

He looked down at himself, then at me, and I guessed what he was thinking as if I could read his mind—we both had all our clothes on, including our boots—nothing happened.

"My chest hurts," he growled. "And my throat. Feels like I ate razor blades."

"Where's the bottle?" Dwayne asked.

I thought back to yesterday. I took it to Edgar's room, and he drained it. "It's empty."

"You want me to—?" Dwayne offered.

I shook my head. I'd never been in this position before. I'd created Dwayne, Paul, and Marko. They were all mine, but I wasn't possessive over them. With Edgar, I was. I didn't want him to have anyone's blood other than mine, unless he got it from humans at some point. "Stay here with him," I instructed.

I flew from the bed in the blink of an eye, collected the bottle from Edgar's room, raced downstairs for the funnel, and slashed my wrist with a kitchen knife. Within a couple of minutes, I was back upstairs with a full bottle and an oozing wound wrapped in a towel. I felt light-headed and realised I would have to hunt soon. This was the second time I'd done this in a short space of time, and it had weakened me.

"Edgar, take this." I held out the bottle, cap off, for him to catch the scent.

His nostrils flared and his gaze fixed on it, but he shook his head. "I can't. I don't want to. I don't want to be this."

"I know, but you are, and it can't be reversed. Well, it can, but only if I die."

His yellow eyes switched to my face and met mine. "I read that somewhere. Is that the only way?" He rubbed his throat and groaned. "It fucking hurts."

"It's the only way," I confirmed. "All half vampires return to normal if the head vampire dies. That would have been Max, but he's already gone, so it's me. You, Michael, Star, and Laddie would all be human again if I died. I'm hoping that's not going to happen any time soon, though."

Edgar gulped and shook his head. I sat beside him and surreptitiously moved the bottle closer to his nose. His nostrils fluttered and he licked his lips. "You bastard," he gritted out, well aware what I was doing.

"Maybe. I know it's hard to get used to. But it's just mine. You're not hurting anyone. It'll always just be mine, if that's what you want. Come on, take it. I know how uncomfortable you are right now. The minute you drink, it'll go away."

A full minute passed before he took the bottle from me. Grimacing, he took one small sip, then lowered it. Another minute passed, where his jaw clicked, his chest heaved with every breath, and he moaned in discomfort. Then he lifted the bottle again and rapidly drained it. He gave it back to me and folded his arms around himself. "Do the others know about me yet?"

"I told them," Dwayne said.

"Is Michael gonna tell Sam?"

"He said he wouldn't for now. He doesn't want you to see Sam alone though."

"Shit." Edgar hung his head. "When Sam was there for me, I kept pushing him away. I was a dick to him, and now I can't be his friend anymore."

"You can, when you get used to this," I told him. "You shouldn't be alone around humans for a while, but it gets easier. Look at me. I've had you with me for nearly two years, and yes, it's hard, but I do it, don't I? When you want someone, it's more difficult than if they're just a friend or an acquaintance."

Edgar looked up, eyes narrowed. "How long have you wanted me?"

"Um, a while. I suppressed it because you're too young and because of what happened to you," I admitted.

He stared at me, eyes wide, then he relaxed. "Okay." He nodded. "It doesn't matter. You could have done anything you wanted, and I wouldn't have been able to stop you, but you did nothing other than take care of me."

"I think I'll just, um—" Desperate to be somewhere else, Dwayne slipped away.

"What you were saying yesterday, about my future," Edgar went on. "I want to do my exams. I don't know what I want to do after that—study more, or work or whatever. But I won't live off you. I'll pay my own way."

"That's good. I'm not sure how we'll work it out, but maybe we can get your teacher to visit here early one evening. They know Michael, too, because of Sam. If me and him say we're looking after you since your mother left—" I blinked rapidly, my head a little fuzzy.

"Yeah, they already knew I was staying with Sam's family for a while." Edgar's brows suddenly drew together in a frown and he touched my face. "Are you all right? Your eyes are rolling. And yellow."

"Yeah, I need to, um, get a top up. You've had my reserves." I grinned, aware I was showing him my fangs.

"Fuck, I'm sorry. Is it always gonna be like this?"

"No. Like I said, you won't need it every day when you get used to it. It's been too long for me, that's all." I got up. "I won't be long."

"I'll stay here." Edgar stayed sitting on the bed as I left the room.

I made my way downstairs, deciding I would find a victim as close as possible. I was more desperate than I'd been in a long time and Edgar's description of swallowing razor blades applied to me. I opened the door and halted as the other vampires came up the path, Michael and Star leading the way.

"Is Edgar okay?" Star asked anxiously.

"He will be."

Before I had the chance to do or say anything else, Michael had me by the throat as he propelled me down the hall and slammed me into the wall at the end. "You fucking bastard!" he snarled. "Why'd you do that to him, hah?"

"It was an accident," I gasped. I tried to push myself away from the wall, but he easily pinned me there due to my weakened state.

"An accident! What did you do? Bite him? Force him to drink your blood when he was already drunk and didn't know any different?" He yanked me off the wall and hurled me onto the floor. The wood splintered under my back.

"Michael, stop!" Dwayne shouted, grabbing Michael from behind. Michael let go of me and turned, then punched Dwayne in the face.

I pushed myself up, shaking my head as my eyes refused to focus properly. As I looked up, I blinked in surprise. Edgar sprang over the rail at the side of the stairs and landed in a crouch, one foot either side of my head. He pulled himself up to his full height, which wasn't much compared to Michael, and snarled at him, fangs bared.

"Stay away from him!" he growled. "You want a fucking fight? Start with me!"

"Whoa, Edgar, calm down." Michael took a step back. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You are hurting me, if you hurt David." His voice dropped lower, and he stepped forward. "He didn't do anything to me. He wasn't even here. I found the fucking bottle when I was looking for alcohol. I thought it was wine. So, if you're looking for someone to blame for my change, you're looking at him." He jabbed a thumb into his chest. "David's done nothing but take care of me for two years. Back the fuck off, or you can bet your life I'll be coming for you with a stake the first chance I get."

"Jesus Christ," Michael muttered, holding up both hands as he backed away farther. "Is this true?"

"Yeah, it's true. I told you how it happened," Dwayne put in.

"Well, I didn't believe you. You all hero-worship David. I figured you'd say anything to make him look better."

"David made us," Marko said. "We're loyal to him, yeah, but Dwayne wouldn't lie."

"Fucking hell," Michael groaned. "Edgar, how do you feel about all this?"

"How the fuck do you think I feel? You didn't want it either, so you know. But I did this to myself, I didn't have any help. I've been fucked up since I came here. Not anymore. I know what I want, and I'm going to have it. None of you are gonna get in my way." He turned his back on Michael and reached down to take my hand, then pulled me to my feet with surprising strength. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised—he had my blood running through his veins. He let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around me. "Are you okay?"

"I will be, when I, um—"

"Let's go. I'm hungry, too." Marko grabbed my arm and led me to the door.

"I'll stay with Edgar," Dwayne called after me.

"I can take care of myself," Edgar growled.

"I don't doubt it, buddy." Dwayne chuckled. "I know not to mess with you."

Marko and I left the house and headed for the boardwalk on foot. We weren't as careful as usual, my weakness prompting me to find a victim in the parking lot. A lone male some distance from anyone else caught my attention, and I took him quickly, too fast for him to scream. I drained him, took his wallet, and dumped him in the sea while Marko looked for his own meal. When we were done, we returned to the house. Dwayne, Edgar, and Laddie played a video game together, while Star cooked something in the kitchen. Paul read a comic, but there was no sign of Michael.

"Where is he?" I asked Star.

"I don't know. He said he needed to get some air. I'm sorry about what happened before."

"It's not your fault. You're not responsible for his behaviour. What are we eating?" I sniffed at the pan she was stirring.

"Chilli."

"Nice. Thank you." I left her and went into the lounge room. Edgar shot me a quick grin, then turned his attention back to the TV screen just in time to ram a stake through Dwayne's character's chest. "What the hell are you playing?"

"Vampire Killer." Dwayne grinned. "Nice, huh?" He put his controller down. "Edgar's hunting Laddie and me."

"Too close for comfort?" Edgar glanced at me again and winked, much to my surprise. I smiled, distracting him. By the time he turned back to the screen, Laddie's character was on him, biting into his neck. "Shit! You killed me!" Edgar dropped his controller and collapsed back on the couch, playing dead. Laddie laughed in delight.

I sat down, wedging myself between Edgar and the arm of the couch. "You okay?"

"Actually, yeah. I can still have fun. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suddenly over it, but I'm okay. What about you?" He met my eyes. "Blue again. I guess you're fine."

I nodded and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. Laddie screwed up his face in disgust. "Not you, too. Michael and Star are always smooching. Bleugh!"

Everybody laughed. I slid my arm around Edgar, and he leaned against me, smiling. He would still struggle, and he'd hate what he was, maybe hate me occasionally, but I felt like things were going to be all right.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day a letter arrived from the school about Edgar's failure to attend his exams. Michael called his teacher and invited her to the house for a discussion one evening, and somehow the pair of us and Edgar managed to convince her to let him sit the exams alone. They would be arranged for the following week on school premises, but in a small classroom instead of the main study hall, supervised by one of the teachers.

All of us worried about Edgar being in an enclosed space with a human, and I hunted every day to give myself the ability to fill up the bottle twice a day for him to feed. He complained about it every time but drank anyway to lessen his discomfort and ensure he could do the exams without suffering too much. He only drank beer once, so far as I knew, and quickly realised he no longer enjoyed it, and didn't feel any effects from it. He said he did it out of habit, but didn't feel the need to drown his thoughts, so that was a big improvement.

Meanwhile, the other vampires in the area began causing more problems. We knew there were three, but the number of disappearances rose at a disturbing rate, and we suspected they had made a few more of themselves. Marko, Paul, and Dwayne began hunting for their lair and found evidence of it in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. The building had an underground storage section and had been closed due to an explosion that had killed dozens of workers. Michael and Star decided to go there during the day when they were sleeping, to find out exactly how many there were. They discovered six in total, meaning we would have our work cut out.

I kept my distance from Edgar for a while; not enough to make him feel like I'd changed my mind or was avoiding him, or at least I thought not. But he needed to be up during the day for his exams, and having him in my bed was too hard, so I slept alone during the day and he stayed in his room at night. When the exams were over and he didn't need to spend his time studying, or go out during the day, he let me have it with both barrels. I woke on Saturday evening to find him sitting on the side of my bed glaring at me.

"Edgar?"

"Finally. You know how long I've been waiting for you to wake up? It's been dark for over an hour."

I grinned and sat up. "Someone's in a bad mood."

"You think it's funny that you spent the whole week ignoring me? I know what's going on, and you're all leaving me out of it."

"What are you talking about?" I frowned and rubbed a hand over my face.

"The vampires in the warehouse. I've heard you and the others talking when you think I'm asleep. I'm a fucking vampire killer, David. If there are six of them, then you need me."

"Whoa, where's this coming from? We're not leaving you out. We're biding our time, and we were waiting for your exams to be over."

"Well, they're over." Edgar glowered. "I smashed them."

"Good."

"We'll talk about the bloodsuckers more later. After you tell me why you're avoiding me like the plague."

"I'm not." I reached for him, but he moved away. "You needed to be up during the day, and you didn't need the distraction this week, that's all. You know I want you."

"Do I?" He glared, eyes turning yellow.

"You're still really young. And after what happened—"

"I'm eighteen in a couple of months. And what happened was two years ago. Since I drank your fucking blood, I hardly think about it." Edgar's fangs emerged. His heart was pounding, the sound like a rapid drumbeat in my ears. He was angry, but also nervous, as if he were stealing himself to do something. I stayed quiet and waited, my gaze locked on his. He moved so fast he blurred, straddling my lap and gripping my shoulders. "Maybe I'm not ready to fuck, but I want _something._ I'm not scared." His shaking voice betrayed him.

"I know that," I said softly. I slid my arms around him and pulled him against me. My dick was hard under the sheet, and he had to have felt it. I tilted my head back and kissed his chin. He hesitated, then brought our lips together. His fangs punctured my lip and he swept his tongue over the small wounds, releasing a groan of pleasure. When my lip healed, his groan turned to one of frustration.

"Come here." I gripped the back of his neck and guided his mouth to my neck. I doubted he would bite, so I made a quick move with my free hand and pressed my thumbnail through my skin into a vein. Edgar's nostrils flared, and his mouth covered the cut on my neck. "That's it. Take what you want."

He sucked on the wound and his fangs pressed into my flesh. I shuddered as he began to feed from me, humming with pleasure, his body writhing on my lap. The scent of his blood and my own made my nostrils flare, and the smell of his arousal ignited me further. My dick throbbed under the sheet, against the pressure of his body, and I dug my nails into his back in an effort to not touch myself. But then he surprised me again, when he shuffled backwards a few inches and reached between us. I rolled my head back, gasping, as he wrapped his hand around me. He stroked me, hesitantly, a little awkwardly, as if he'd never had a dick in his hand before. It was clumsy, jerky, and he didn't grip tight enough, but my orgasm rocked through me and I spilled into his hand.

Panting, I held onto him, expecting him to back away, but that didn't happen. He pulled his mouth from my neck, licking his lips, and unfastened his pants. I lowered my gaze and took in the swollen head of his dick, flushed red, wet with precome, as it slid through his fist. Two strokes, and he came, crying out and shaking in my arms.

"Fuck," he gasped. "Fucking hell." He shoved himself back into his pants and slumped forward, resting his head on my shoulder.

I stroked his back, his shirt damp and warm. "You okay?"

"Y-yes."

"Edgar?"

"Okay, maybe I am scared."

"You can trust me."

He pulled back and met my eyes, his face flushed. "I know. I'm sure you're used to, um, something better than that."

"It was amazing because it's you. I'm yours, to do whatever you want with, at your pace. Okay?"

Edgar nodded. "I'm gonna, um, take a shower." He shuffled off my lap and got to his feet. "Then we'll talk about those fucking vampires."

We met up with the others later that night and as reluctant as I was to let Edgar get involved, I decided it would be better for him to go and check out the situation with Michael and Star, rather than try to stop him and have him go off on his own the minute the rest of us were asleep. So on Sunday morning, as I passed out in my bed, Edgar set off with the other two adult half vamps to check out the warehouse where our enemies slept. I knew nothing of the outcome until Sunday night.

I opened my eyes, instantly relieved when I found Edgar snuggled against me, under the sheet this time, although he was wearing a T-shirt and underwear. I brushed my lips over his and he opened his eyes.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You mean, why am I under the sheet?" He grinned. "You're mine to do what I want with, right?"

"Don't tease me."

"I'm not. I want to touch you again."

"Fuck." My dick jerked and I suppressed the urge to pull him against me. "After you tell me what happened at the warehouse."

"Oh, that. Way to spoil the mood, David. Michael and Star just wanted to look and report back. What's the point in that? The best way to get them is while they're sleeping."

Alarm filled me. "What did you do?"

"Don't look so worried. There isn't a scratch on me, as you can see. I took two of them out with holy water when they were sleeping. While they were screaming and burning, the others woke up, so the three of us rushed out into the sun. One of the newer ones followed us and burned to a crisp. Fucking hilarious. So, three down, three to go."

"Jesus fucking Christ, Edgar," I groaned. "You could have got yourself killed."

He grinned wider. "But I didn't. It's about time I got back to doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm guessing the remaining three will come after us tonight, but at least there are more of us than them now."

"What did the two that you killed look like?" I asked.

"One had long dark hair and a nose ring. Upside down, he looked a bit like Dwayne. The other was kind of ginger."

"Okay, good. They were two of the original three. I think the dark one was the leader, so the others won't be as strong. It shouldn't be too difficult to take them out." Relieved, I pulled Edgar against me. "So, where were we? I didn't really spoil the mood, did I?"

"Yeah, you pretty much ruined it." He pushed against my chest. I loosened my grip, disappointed. Then he laughed. "You're too easy to tease."

I growled, showing him my fangs. "Tease me too much, and I'll bite you."

"Like that's a threat." He rolled his eyes.

I stopped joking around and met his gaze. "Tell me what you want."

"I, um—" Lowering his eyes, he flushed and smiled. "I want you to touch me."

I touched his face, the heat of his skin warming my fingertips. "Do you want to get undressed?"

"Um, yeah, sure." He moved with the speed of sound, throwing back the bed covers, tossing garments to the side of the room, sliding back into the bed with me. He breathed fast and nervously, his pulse racing, and he was about as far from being aroused as he could get—I couldn't smell anything other than his fear. Shit.

I grasped his hand and placed it on my chest, holding it there, covered by my own. "You're safe with me. You know that, right? You can change your mind. We don't have to do anything."

"I want to. I just don't want it to be like… before."

"It won't be. This is different. You get to decide what happens."

He nodded slowly. "Can you close your eyes?"

I closed them instantly. If my heart had still been able to beat, it would have raced. I released his hand and lay still, waiting to see what he would do. My dick throbbed, aching for his touch, and my fangs lengthened.

The mattress moved as Edgar changed position. His hand left my chest and he touched my neck, pushing my hair away. Warm breath brushed my skin, then his fangs pressed in gently, beneath my ear. I arched my neck, gasping with delight as his lips sealed around the wounds. He hummed with pleasure as he fed from me, and as he moved closer, his growing erection bumped against my thigh. I groaned and clenched my fists at my sides to stop myself touching him. He moved closer, shuffling around until he lay against me, his dick rubbing mine. I sucked in a needless breath, and my body trembled with need. The seconds ticked by, slow-motion as I waited for whatever would happen next.

Edgar reached for my hand and guided it between us, showing me with his touch what he wanted. His heart thundered in his chest, and his fangs slid free of my flesh as he pulled his head back and rested it on the pillow. I risked a peek through lowered lashes and found his eyes closed, lips parted and stained with my blood. Slowly, carefully, I wrapped my fingers around him and me together, precome easing the way as I stroked one against the other. He squirmed and groaned, clutched at my shoulder with one hand, rolling his hips as his orgasm approached. I leaned in closer, touched my lips lightly to his and tasted my blood. He deepened the kiss and slid his tongue into my mouth, seeking out my fangs. I bit gently, barely enough to break the skin, until I tasted his blood, sweet and warm, combined with the taste of my own.

We came together, hard and fast, warm and wet, filling my hand and splashing against my stomach. I took my hand away and slid my arm around Edgar as I retracted my fangs and broke the kiss. He opened his eyes and met mine.

"Fuck. That was, um—" He laughed. "Wow."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," I teased.

"But you want more." He met my eyes. "You want to fuck, don't you?"

"Some day, if it's what you want. If you don't, we don't have to."

"Won't you get bored?"

"No." I tugged him closer. "Listen, Edgar. I'm yours, in whatever capacity you want me. Sex doesn't make me happy. You do."

"Are you sure you're not just saying that because of what happened to me before?"

"No. I'd say it anyway."

"Okay." He thought for a minute. "He didn't fuck me. I don't know if you guessed that. I didn't specify what he did and didn't do when I talked about it."

"I figured. One time you said something about him trying to."

"Yeah, I managed to fight him off the few times he tried to do that. That's why I ended up getting punched. Mostly he sucked my dick and jerked himself off. I fucking hated it because I came and I didn't want to." He spoke without any emotion as if he were reciting a script. "I couldn't have said that before I changed, but it doesn't seem to matter now. I'm not the same person anymore. I just don't want you to ever do that one thing."

"I can't anyway. Nor can you."

"Oh! Fangs. Right." He snorted. "I guess I ruined the mood now."

"No, you didn't. You can always talk to me about anything. But we should get up. Dwayne and Paul are downstairs."

Edgar listened for a moment, catching the two vampires' voices. "Yeah. We'll pick this up another time then. Soon." He gave me a kiss, so fast I barely felt the brush of his lips, and in a flash he was out of the bed, pulling on his underwear.

I stayed where I was while he went to shower and dress properly. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Edgar was really mine now, and we had nothing to stand in our way.


End file.
